Night Falls
by X-Chick303
Summary: While fighting a mysterious new villain, Nightwing ends up following him ten years into the past. Now, in order to get back home, he needs the help of his younger self and his old team. But this won't be easy. Some scars never heal...
1. Nightwing Gets an Invite He Can't Refuse

**This started out as a way to beat writers block, but everything just started to... progress. Anyway, enjoy.**

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><p><em>"Hurting? Try traumatized. I-I finally become leader and wind up sending all of my friends to their deaths. I-I-I know I did what I had to, but I hated it. When we started this team, I was desperate to be in charge. Not anymore. And that's not even the worst of it. Y-you can't tell Batman," Robin stammered.<em>

_"Nothing leaves this room," said Black Canary, trying to soothe him._

_"I always wanted... expected t-to grow grow up a-and become him. A-and the hero bit? I'm still all in. But that thing, inside of him... t-that thing that drives him to sacrifice everything for the sake of his mission... that's not me. I-I don't want to be _the_ Batman, anymore."_

- Young Justice Episode 17, "Disordered"

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><p><strong><em>Blüdhaven, 10 years into the future<em>**

Blüdhaven. Possibly the only town with a worse crime rate than Gotham City. And that's saying something. They say that if you die in Blüdhaven, Hell would be a promotion. Unfortunately, this town doesn't have a Batman like Gotham City does. But it does have someone just as good. You'll see who it is in a moment. We just need the right cue...

"Help, help!"

That ought to do it.

"Lady, just give me your purse," said the mugger. "Nobody has to get hurt."

"Help! Somebody help me!" the woman screamed.

The mugger sighed and shook his head. "You should've just given me the purse." He took out a gun. "Now I have to shut you up."

The mugger prepared to fire, but something knocked the gun out of his hand. It was a black bird-esque shuriken.

"Seriously, Mr. Kowanski? What is this, the_ third_ time I've caught you doing extracurricular activities this month?" a voice cackled in the shadows.

The mugger groaned. "Oh man, not again!"

A guy jumped down from a fire escape. "Besides, I don't see why you even want that purse. It doesn't go with your shoes."

The mugger attempted to punch this guy, but the man grabbed his arm and flipped him into a dumpster. The he placed a lock onto the dumpster latch.

The man was about 6 feet tall, maybe taller. He short, spiky black hair and looked very athletic. He wore a black domino mask, a black body suit with a wide blue v-shape on the upper chest that extended to the shoulders and went down his arms to the backs of his gloved hands, a grey belt, and black boots.

He picked the lady's purse and handed it to her. "I believe this is yours."

The woman took it gingerly. "Thank you, I think..."

He smirked. "I'm guessing you're new in town."

"Moved here last week," she said nervously. "I'm sorry, I've just never met a real superhero before. Which one are you?"

"Most folks call me Nightwing," he replied. "Anyway, I suggest you call the cops to pick up Mr. Kowanski."

She nodded. "I'll do that."

Nightwing smiled, the pulled a grappling gun out of his utility belt. He fired it, and propelled upward onto a rooftop. Then he ran across other roofs until he was out of sight.

She stood there in shock, then said to herself, "I think I'm going to like this town."

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><p>Nightwing stopped for a break atop a Wayne Enterprises building. (Oh, the irony.) So far, he had stopped four muggings (Mr. Kowanski's included), one bank robbery, two attempted murders, and busted a chop shop. Not bad for a night's work. He could've done more if he had someone watching his back...<p>

Stop, he told himself. You don't need anyone else. You've been doing fine on your own. You need to show_ him_ that your doing okay with the solo act...

He crouched down, reached into a pouch, and pulled out a water bottle. As he drank, a sudden breeze blew by.

"What do you want, Flash?" he snapped, without even turning around.

Flash walked over. "Couldn't you act surprised,_ just_ this once?"

Nightwing stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "If I don't, it'll make the time actually _do_ sneak up on me all the more special. Now, I repeat, what do you want, Flash?"

"I was just in the neighborhood. Thought I'd come and say hi," Flash replied.

Nightwing crossed his arms. "He sent you to check up on me, didn't he."

"No, of course not!" Flash said. "Dude, you've been at this solo since you were eighteen. I think he's gotten the idea by now."

"Then what's the real reason you're here?" Nightwing asked.

Flash rubbed the back of his head. "Well... M'gann is putting together a reunion."

"A reunion for what?"

"You know..."

Nightwing narrowed his eyes. "Oh, that. I don't know, dude. The idea of it sounds so... high school."

"C'mon, it'll be fun. Roy even said yes, and he wasn't even originally part of the team. He's gonna bring Lian, and I'm gonna bring the Linda and the twins. Everybody will be there."

"Not everybody."

Flash frowned. "Oh, right. I guess Artemis wouldn't want to come."

"Flash, you're my best friend, and you have been since I was a kid. But I don't think I'm going to make it."

All of a sudden, an explosion came from a building across the street.

Nightwing grinned. "Besides, I have all the fun I need right here."

Flash look at the building. "Star Labs, huh? That can't be good. If you want, I could help if a fire starts up." He turned to face Nightwing, only to see that he was gone. "Nightwing?"

Flash heard a cackle and noticed that Nightwing had already made it to the street below. He sighed. "Some things never change."

Meanwhile, on the street, Nightwing used his grappling gun to get up to the floor where the explosion had occurred. Once he was up there, he pulled out a shuriken and looked around the hallway.

Flash ran into the room. "Nice of you to wait for me."

Nightwing sheathed the shuriken. "Weren't you right behind me?"

"Never mind. Find anything yet?" Flash asked.

"Not yet, but check this out." He gestured to a re-enforced door that had been blown open. (The explosion, remember?) A sign next to it said, **CHRONO-LAB**.

"Nothing good can come out of something labeled 'chrono'," Flash pointed out.

"Yeah. Want to check it out?"

"Duh."

They climbed through the hole, walked through a slight hallway, and came into a huge room.

"Whoa," Nightwing gaped in awe.

He had the right to be shocked. In the center of the room was a huge arch, and a pink-and-violet portal swirled within it. Every now and again, a surge a lightning came from it.

"What is that thing?" Flash wondered.

Nightwing ran over to a computer terminal and plugged in a cord from a hidden pouch in his glove. Once that was done, a holographic screen appeared, decrypting data.

"It's called the Chrono-Arch," Nightwing explained, reading off of the data. "Star Labs built as an attempt at... time travel?"

"Are these guys crazy? Time travel experiments have been outlawed since Vandal Savage tried to change the course of WWII!" Flash said, wincing at the memory of the experience.

"Yes... but it's so hard to resist, isn't it."

They turned to see a man, whose white body suit literally covered his entire body. Even his face. He also wore a brown trench coat.

Nightwing pulled out his Escrima sticks, ready to fight.

"Anxious little bird, aren't you," the man said in a purring voice. It was a little irritating. "Yes, Star Labs was aware that time travel experiments were outlawed. But they couldn't help themselves. Time is such an interesting subject."

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that you're our intruder," Flash said.

"Oh yes. I needed to gain access to the Arch. You're welcome to try and stop me from completing my goals, but I doubt you'll succeed."

"Depends what those goals are," Nightwing scowled, not lowering his sticks.

The intruder laughed. "Oh, this must be the part where you trick me into monologuing, which will give you time to plot my downfall. Sorry, that's not how I work."

The man lifted his arms, little white orbs melted from his body and flew around the room. The white body suit wasn't a suit, it was his actual body. One orb rammed into a wall, exploding.

"Careful now. These orbs aren't child-safe," the man taunted, then he sauntered over to the arch's computer console.

"You take the bombs, I'll take the annoying guy," Nightwing commanded. "Any arguments?"

"None." Flash began to run around the room, and the bombs followed him.

Nightwing ran over to the stranger and tried to uppercut him with one of his sticks, but he caught him arm and flipped him.

"Really? Attacking a man while his back is turned? How unhonorable," the man said. "And the was a sloppy move. I was led to believe that you were trained by the best."

"I _was_ trained by the best. And personally, I'd like to know the name of the guy who's face I'm about to punch in," Nightwing spat, standing back up.

"You may call me Blank Face. And I'm about to change the future," Blank Face, replied. He pulled a long bo-staff from his body. "Shall we fight?"

Nightwing scowled, and charged. The two fought, matching punch to punch. It was like Blank Face knew what move Nightwing was going to make before he even thought of making it. Even when Nightwing attempted a spinning kick.

"This bores me. You can't defeat me," Blank Face yawned, blocking the kick. Using the bo-staff, he twisted Nightwing's legs, causing him to fall painfully. The staff turned into a spear. He pointed it at Nightwing's chin. "This fight is over. I win."

"Well, I demand a recount!"

Blank Face turned, and Flash ran past him. That meant all of the flying bombs rammed into him. Flash also manged to grab Nightwing, getting him away from a now disoriented Blank Face.

"You okay?" Flash asked, helping Nightwing back on his feet.

"I'll live," Nightwing assured him.

Blank Face collected himself. The explosions hadn't even scratched him. "I don't have time for this. Follow me if you dare, little robin."

Blank Face jumped into the swirling vortex, his laugh echoing across the room.

"He's not getting away!" Nightwing shouted. He broke away from Flash, ran across the room, and jumped into the portal.

Flash attempted to follow, but the portal closed before he could. Parts of the machine short-circuited. There was now no way to reactivate it.

The room was dark and quiet. Flash stood there in shock. He slowly lifted his hand, pulled off his mask. This was not Barry Allen. This was Wally West, who was known in his youth as Kid Flash.

He stood in silence, then said to himself, "Batman is going to kill me."


	2. The Mission Hits the Proverbial Fan

**Chapter 2, engage!**

**And some rules when it comes to reviews.**

**1. Stuff like "Update" or "Please continue" are not reviews. I want to know what you ****_think_****. I WILL update and I WILL continue.  
>2. Somebody wrote "FTW". This also not a review. (Scotty1609, I wasn't offended, honest!)<br>3. Don't afraid to be honest. I want to know what's really on your minds about this story.**

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><p><strong><em>Mount Justice, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, 10 years1 hour/5 minutes in the past. AKA The Present  
>November 1st, 6:15 pm.<em>**

"Condiment King? You have got to be kidding me," Artemis scoffed as she blocked a hit from Robin.

Artemis was currently sparring with Robin in Mount Justice, with Black Canary and the rest of the team supervising. To pass the time, they were talking about all the lame supervillains Robin had met.

"I'm serious," Robin insisted, vaulting over Artemis to avoid a kick. "This guy just walks into a restaurant, decked in practically every piece of hideous spandex in Gotham, and demands that everybody give up their jewelry. His threat?" He ducked from an elbow jab. "That he'd dump mustard on their clothes, and that 'the stains would never come out'! Cue evil laugh. Oh, and don't get me started on his puns!"

Robin dropped to the ground and knocked Artemis's legs out from under her. On the floor screen, the words "**Artemis: FAIL**" appeared from where she fell.

Artemis grunted as Robin helped her up. "So, how'd you two stop him?"

"I kicked him the face. Then he started crying and begged us not to tell his mom," Robin replied.

"Oh-kay, it's official. You finally met somebody lamer than Signalman," Wally said, eating chips with his good arm. (Yes, the other one was still a bit broken.) "Hey, didn't you stop him also with a kick to the face?"

"No, with him Batman did the kicking.", Robin replied. "But it just goes to show becoming a supervillain is the mother of Bad Ideas."

"Why do people even try?" M'gann asked.

"They think they have something to prove," Black Canary answered. "Or see it as a way to make a quick buck. Usually they figure out pretty quick that it isn't worth it."

Conner crossed his arms. "If you ask me, some people are just stupid."

"Or foolish," Kaldur added. "Nevertheless, by the sound of Robin's story, Condiment King learned his lesson."

"Nah, they never learn. He'll be back in a week," Robin disagreed. He then pulled up his holo-screen, scanning some data.

"What are you looking at?" Artemis asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Just updates on a stream of robberies that have been going on for a few weeks now. Each took place at different science lab, but each time the same thing was stolen," Robin clarified.

"We're not psychic... okay, M'gann is, but not my point. What was stolen?" Wally asked.

"Computer chips. Not even important ones. That's why the police are baffled. They don't know what are thieves are even planning to do with them."

"Then it's a good thing that I do."

The kids all gave small gasps of surprise. Even Black Canary did one. Naturally, it was Batman who had manged to enter the room without being noticed.

"Really, Batman?" Black Canary said, incredulous. "Would it kill you to make some noise when you walk into a room?"

Batman didn't answer her, but instead said, "Canary, you're dismissed. I need to speak with the team alone."

Canary shrugged, and left the room. The rest of the team gathered around Bats.

"You were talking about the string of robberies, and coincidentally, that's what I wanted to talk you about." On the monitors behind Batman, several blueprints appeared. "The police don't know this, but all these microchips are part of a set. A set that, once put together, can be used to build a device that can access any electrical device in the world."

"Who would authorize the creation of such chips? It clearly was a bad idea," Kaldur said.

Everyone was quiet, but then realized it at the same time. "The government."

"Exactly. They were being created for the sake foreign espionage, but the project was deemed... well, a bad idea," Batman continued. "The chips were locked away, disguised to look like unimportant hard drives. But apparently somebody wasn't fooled, and stole the first five. There are two remaining, and intel states that they'll be attempting to steal the sixth one tonight."

"Lemme guess. That's where we come in," M'gann said.

Batman nodded. "You six will stake out the lab where the chip is being kept, and intervene if anyone breaks in."

"Uh, no offense, but this doesn't mission seem a little... minor?" Connor asked.

"Yeah. We could just as easily tip off the police and they could handle it," Robin agreed.

"No mission is too minor," Batman said in that 'I'm trying to make you feel uncomfortable' tone. "Suit up and move out."

He left the room, and kids went their separate ways to do as they were told. Though, they did it grudgingly.

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><p><em><strong>Star Labs,<strong>_ **_Blüdhaven._** _**1 Hour and 5 Minutes Later  
>7:20 pm.<strong>_

The Bio-Ship was parked on a nearby building, and the team members took up their positions to begin the stake-out.

"_Everybody remain in telepathic contact. We can't risk having our adversaries pick up radio chatter,_" Aqualad thought. He was watching the building from a construction site.

"_Man, why do I have to stay in the Bio-Ship?_" Kid Flash complained. "_It's boring in here!_"

"_Because, in case you've forgotten, your arm is still healing,_" Artemis replied. She was on a rooftop with Robin.

"_So? My powers involve my legs, not my arms. I could still help. I've helped before._"

"_Yeah, but you could be tripped and re-break the arm. And trust me, the experience is NOT fun,_" Robin said. "_Only come help if it's an emergency._"

"_Blah, blah, blah. I'm probably the strongest member on the team,_" Kid Flash argued.

"_Excuse me_?" Superboy asked. He was with M'gann on the Star Labs building itself.

"_Quiet! The mental link is for planning, not for arguing_!" Miss Martian thought, sounding a bit irritated. "_... Sorry. I don't like it when we have fights. Even silly ones like this._"

"_Neither do I. But I also don't like the fact that we're in Blüdhaven,_"Robin said.

"_Really? Why?_" Aqualad asked.

"_This place is dangerous! They say that if it's too coarse for Gotham, it ends up here. This town is just plain depressing_," Robin responded. "_And_ _that's coming from a kid who works with Batman._"

"_Yeah, I've heard horror stories about this place_," Artemis said. She pulled out an arrow and rolled it in her fingers. "_What's really sad is that this city doesn't have a superhero like Batman to protect it. Nobody wants to bother._"

Before anyone else could get a response in, an alarm went off in the building. The thieves were striking.

"_Move out!_" Aqualad commanded. He filled his water bearers from a tub of water in the construction site, then headed toward the building.

The others followed, not quite aware that they were being watched.

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><p><em><strong>3 Minutes Earlier<br>7:17 pm.**_

Nightwing knew that the portal would eventually open somewhere. What he didn't know was that it would open thirty stories up in the air.

"Holy-!" he began to holler, and luckily the next word he said was inaudible.

As he fell, he scrambled for an idea on how to avoid becoming part of the pavement. He snatched his grappling gun, and quickly aimed it at a gargoyle on a building. He fired, and the hook wrapped around it's head. He stopped falling, and held on to the rope for dear life.

_Whew, that would've been messy_, he thought. _I'd better find some stable ground and get my bearings_.

He climbed the rope and hopped onto the balcony the gargoyle had been on. Once the adrenaline rush ceased, Nightwing pulled up his holo-screen.

"Okay, since that was a time vortex, let's see _when_ I am," he muttered to himself. He hit some keys on the screen. "November 1st... I went ten years into the past!"

He closed the computer and sat down. He couldn't believe this was happening to him. Time travel was #2 on his list of 'Things I Really Hate About Being A Superhero'. (Number 1 was going to alternate realities. Those were less fun and twice as confusing.) And November 1st... why was that date familiar? He hadn't had that fight with Klarion yet, so why-

_BRIIIIIIIIINNNNNG!_

Nightwing stood up upon hearing the alarm.

_Wait. Alarm... November 1st... the microchips... crap, I remember this! _Nightwing thought.

He turned to see the construction site. He hit a sensor on his mask, activating night vision. He could now see Aqualad leave the site, and with a little more searching, he could see the others heading for the lab.

He turned off the night vision. _What can I do? First rule of time travel: Don't interfere with the past. But if things go as I remember... this won't be pleasant. _After a minute of arguing with himself, he sighed and muttered, "I'm probably going to regret this."

Nightwing pulled out his Escrima sticks and jumped off the balcony.

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><p><em><strong>7:21 pm.<strong>_

Aqualad, Robin, and Artemis headed for the building.

"Looks like our sneak thieves took the direct approach," Robin said.

"A direct approach sounds good," Artemis added.

"About as good as any plan," Aqualad agreed. "_Miss Martian, Superboy, go inside. We'll meet you there_."

"_Right!_" Miss Martian replied. "_See you inside._"

Aqualad face Artemis and Robin. "Miss Martian and Superboy are heading in."

That was when they were surrounded. All were muscular men, and they wore white formal suits. They held guns, grenades, one even had a bazooka.

"Great," Artemis said sarcastically. "Any chance they could head back out?"

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><p><em><strong>7: 24 pm.<strong>_

Superboy punched a hole through the roof, and he and Miss Martian made their inside. They looked around.

"What I don't understand is how the thieves got past us. We were watching the building the entire time," Miss M said as she flew by an unconscious guard.

"We'll figure that out later. For now, let's kick butt!" Superboy said.

They ran into a large room. (In ten years, this room would house the Chrono Arch, but for now, it was a basic lab.)

"Why do I get the feeling that we're walking into-", Superboy started to say.

"_It's an ambush!_" they heard Robin shout in their heads.

But the warning was late. Somebody shot a rocket at Superboy and Miss Martian's feet. They were sent flying into the walls. Superboy got right back up, but Miss Martian was down for the count.

"M'gann!" he shouted. He tried run over to her, but somebody punched him in the face. He reeled back, but didn't fall.

"I''d worry less about my girlfriend if I were you."

Superboy got a look at who had hit him.

"It's been awhile since I've had a decent battle," Blank Face said in a smug tone. "Shall we begin?"


	3. The Sidekicks Get Served

**Chapter 3, ahoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice... but give me a few weeks. And a crayon. I could make it happen.**

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><p><strong><em>M'gann's Bio-Ship, 7:24 pm.<em>**

Kid Flash propped his feet up on the console, pouting. He couldn't believe that his team was making him sit this one out. Did they make him sit out during the fight with Red Volcano? Did they make him sit out during the training-exercise-that-went-terribly-wrong?

KF winced at the memory. He'd actually been more affected by that then he'd let on. Could you blame him? He believed that he had _died_. He believed that Arte- er, his friends were dead. Then they all turned out to be alive. Black Canary said he was in denial. She was probably right.

_And speaking of my friends_, he thought, _why haven't they checked in yet_?

His thoughts were interrupted by noises coming from outside the ship. There were grunts of pain, even a small explosion. Then there was silence. Kid Flash opened the bay doors and ran outside. On the roof were four men in white business suits. They were all unconscious, their weapons lying in a neat pile in a corner.

"Yeah, this isn't creepy at all," KF said to himself sarcastically.

He walked over to one of the men, who had a note pinned to his shirt. He plucked it off, and it read:

_How's about you stop pouting and go help your friends, KF. They need all the help they can get._

The note was unsigned, but it did answer why his friends weren't checking in. They were in for the fight of their lives.

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><p>The men cocked their guns, and opened fire. Thank goodness Aqualad, Artemis, and Robin were quick on their feet, otherwise they'd have more holes in them than Swiss cheese. They jumped behind a parked car.<p>

"We're seriously outnumbered here!" Artemis shouted over the gunfire. She stood up and shot an arrow at the men, then crouched back down. The arrow released tear gas, which took out a few. But there were still many still on their feet, firing. "Contact Miss Martian! Superboy! Heck, get Kid Flash out here! I'm not picky!"

Robin closed his eyes, and projected a warning to Superboy and Miss M. Then he was cut off sharply. "Ow! I had enough time to tell them that it was an ambush, but then I was cut off. I think something happened to M'gann."

"Wait," Aqualad said. It was suddenly quiet. "They've stopped firing. Why?"

That was when a mutual thought dawned on them. Artemis was the one who said it out loud.

"Didn't they have a bazooka?"

The three ran away from the car, and just in time, too. A rocket hit it and exploded. The shockwave from the explosion sent them flying, but they quickly regained balance.

Aqualad got back on his feet and whipped out his water bearers, forming the water into, well, whips. He then used the water to snatch the guns from their adversaries hands, tossing them a good deal away. Robin pulled out several birdarangs, throwing them at the feet of the men. The following explosions sent them flying. Artemis fired several arrows, which released nets that stuck the goons to the building's wall.

Robin dusted off his hands. "See? That wasn't so hard."

That was when Kid Flash ran in. "Aw man! I'm always late!"

"KF, what are you doing here?" Aqualad asked. "We told you to stay in the ship."

"Yeah, but I heard some noises and went outside to find a bunch of unconscious guys alongside a note telling me to come and help," he replied.

"Well, the note was wrong," Robin said. "We clearly don't... need... any..."

Robin trailed off, and the others turned to see what he was looking at. The men from earlier were melting into white goop, and the goop was joining together at the center of the parking lot. Evening the men from the roof top turned into goo and slithered down to join the rest. The pile morphed into a huge white beast, which roared.

"Wow. Didn't see that coming," Robin admitted pretty calmly. "What should we do?"

"The only logical thing to do is fight it," Aqualad suggested.

"Or panic," Artemis added.

"We could do both," Kid Flash pointed out.

So that's what they did. The attacked it. And panicked.

* * *

><p><em><strong>7:28 pm.<strong>_

Superboy crashed through a giant computer screen, courtesy of a punch from Blank Face.

"Yes, I guess I should have realized that this wouldn't be much of a fight," Blank Face said in a bored tone. "You're still in your early days. Still just a boy. Too bad you'll never get very much beyond that..."

Superboy wasn't paying attention. He climbed out of the computer, and jumped to the floor. He looked behind Blank Face, focusing on M'gann. (She was still unconscious.)

Blank Face looked at her as well. "Oh, you're worried about your girlfriend. Pfft. Teen romance never lasts. I'd say that you're relationship has a good year left, _at least_. Personally, the little wretch isn't worth it. She's hiding so many secrets-"

At that point Superboy cracked.

"SHUT UP!"

He punched Blank Face in the, well, face. This led to a barrage of punches and kicks. To finish him off, Superboy punched him in the solar plexus. Only, his arm went straight through him, as if Blank Face were made of baked clay.

Superboy pulled his arm back in shock. "I-I didn't... I didn't mean to..."

Strangely enough, Blank Face was still on his feet. He looked down at the hole in his body. "That would've killed a normal person." The hole closed. It looked as if it hadn't been there at all. "But then again, I'm not normal. Not anymore."

Blank Face opened his hand, and a green stone popped up from his skin. He held it out to Superboy, who recoiled in pain. He fell to the ground.

"That's_ right_. This must be your first contact with kryptonite. I suppose this could a learning experience for both of us," Blank Face purred. (Why was his voice so purry? It was extremely irritating.)

Then something weird happened. The smooth surface that acted as Blank Face's face (He doesn't have a mouth. How does he talk?) started to bubble and morph. When it stopped, it looked exactly like Superman's face.

"He'll never except you," Blank Face sneered in Superman's voice. "To him, you're just an abomination. A violation of his very being. The sooner you realize this, the happier you'll be."

Superboy desperately wanted to shut this guy up, but he was too weak to move.

"This won't hurt a bit." The kryptonite elongated into a dagger. "This will hurt a whole lot."

He raised his hand to impale Superboy, but then something cut it off. The thing impaled itself on a wall. It looked like a shuriken.

Nightwing tackled Blank Face from behind, lifted him up over his head, and threw him through a lab window.

He helped Superboy up. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied. "... You cut off his hand."

"I don't care what I cut off, I'm not sending him a get-well card."

The two guys ran over to Miss Martian. Superboy pushed her into a sitting position, and Nightwing opened one of her eyelids while shining a small flashlight over her pupil.

"Is she alright?" Superboy asked worriedly.

"Well, Martians _are_ a little more structurally sound than humans," Nightwing replied. Deciding that she wasn't concussed, he put the flashlight away. "She's fine, but she'll have a pretty fantastic bruise in the morning. You should get her out of here. Blank Face could be back any second."

"Thanks," Superboy said, picking Miss Martian up bridal-style. "But who are you? And what do you know about that guy in white?"

Blank Face came crashing back into the room. (His face was once again blank.)

"I'll send you a memo, now GO!" Nightwing shouted.

Superboy ran out of the room. Once he was gone, Nightwing turned and said, "So, Blank Face. Care for a rematch?"

"Looks like you accepted my challenge, little robin," Blank Face said. "But you're a little late. I arrived in this time period nearly two months ago."

"First rule of time travel," Nightwing said, pulling out his sticks. "Try not to think about it."

Nightwing then heard the noises outside. He looked out a window to see the team fighting the goo monster.

"Wait, that's not right," he muttered. "The thieves... they were Kobra agents. The monster we fought was Mammoth. You weren't here. Neither was that goo monster."

"Really?" BF said. "I thought that around this time, Mammoth was in prison."

"He is," Nightwing replied. "I mean, he was. He broke out. Did he break out...?"

Nightwing's head hurt. Nothing was making sense. Unfortunately for him, BF took advantage of this moment of weakness and tackled Nightwing, wrapping his arm around his neck. He began to choke him.

"First rule of time travel," BF mocked. "Try not to think about it."

Nightwing gasped for air, but he couldn't throw off Blank Face's hold. But he did have another idea...

"I won't kill you yet, little robin," BF whispered into his ear. "I'm saving that for later. But I will put you in great pain."

"Oh, somebody's gonna be in great pain," Nightwing choked out. "But it's not going to be me."

That was when Blank Face heard the beeping, and laughing. He looked down, and saw that Nightwing had stuck many, many explosives with a pre-recorded laughs onto his body. He let go of Nightwing, who slipped away.

If Blank Face actually had a face, you can bet he'd be mad. "Oh, you son of a-"

**_KA-BOOOOOOOOOM!_**

* * *

><p><em><strong>7:42 pm.<strong>_

Robin looked up at the building. A whole section had been blown apart.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Focus, Robin! We'll worry about it later!" Aqualad shouted.

Robin really did need to focus. The goop monster's tentacles were wrapped around Aqualad and Artemis, and it was swinging them around. It was also somehow generating electricity, shocking them constantly.

Kid Flash knelt on the ground and spun around his good arm, creating a wind vortex. It ripped apart the tentacle holding Artemis. As she fell, Kid Flash ran over and caught her. Unfortunately, she landed on his bad arm, causing both of them to slip to the ground.

"Oof!" Kid Flash grunted. "Geez, what have you been eating? Dumbbells?"

"I guess that'd be more your speed, Kid Mouth," Artemis retorted in a strained voice.

"You two can get a room later!" Robin shouted. "Fight the goo!"

Robin snapped a flagpole off the building, then climbed on top of a large truck. He gained a running start, jumped off the truck, flipped, and brought the pole down the other tentacle. Aqualad fell to the ground, and used his water-bearers to slice the creature to pieces.

"You okay?" Robin asked him.

Aqualad rubbed his shoulder. "I will be alright. I do pretty well when it comes to electricity."

Artemis got off of Kid Flash, rubbing her sore back. "That's the fifth time we've destroyed that thing. It just keeps coming back. I hate to say this, but we need to call the League. We need help!"

Superboy then came outside, carrying Miss Martian. "Guys, M'gann's hurt. We need to- what the heck is that?"

He was looking at the now reformed creature.

"You may wish to set her down somewhere," Aqualad said. "This could be a long fight."

Robin tapped his earpiece. "Batman, we have a-" Feedback whined loudly in his ear. "OW! It's jammed!"

"Looks like we're on our own," Kid Flash said.

Those were truly the most depressing words anyone had said all day.

* * *

><p>Nightwing coughed, and pushed a chunk of debris off his pelvis. Then he stood up, looking at all the damage.<p>

"Well, this was a disaster. Heavy on the 'dis'," he sighed to himself.

"That was a nasty trick."

Blank Face was still standing in the exact same spot, the giant hole already starting to close. "Nasty... but clever. Well done. Since I already have what I need, I'll leave you. I'm not planning to kill you or the team until much later."

Blank Face reached into his head, and pulled out the microchip. He must have stuck it in there for safe keeping. "But since this fight amused me, here's how you stop my monster. Super-sonics destabilize it, turning it into harmless sludge. You could get Black Canary down here... or use the mini-sonic generators you keep on your person. Just a thought."

With that, Blank Face disappeared in a flash of light.

"He can teleport too?" Nightwing asked aloud to no one in particular. "Brilliant. Just brilliant."

He decided to swallow the sarcasm and go help the team. They probably needed it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>7:47 pm.<strong>_

"I always imagined it'd be someone cool who finishes me off, like Lex Luthor or the Joker!" Kid Flash yelled, the monster's tentacle holding him upside down. "But a pile of living tapioca? That's horrible way to die!"

All the kids, save for Miss Martian, were in its tentacles. Go figure.

"Don't even joke about that!" Superboy shouted, constantly ripping free of it's grasp and getting re-captured.

"Sorry."

Artemis reached for an arrow, only to find that there were none. "I'm out!"

Robin looked into his utility belt. "I'm out too!"

Aqualad couldn't reach his water bearers, since the monster had made him drop them. He was also out of water, for the monster had absorbed it all. "And I make three!"

Superboy stared across the parking lot, to where he had set Miss Martian on top of a car. "Looks like she's the last one."

"Stop that talk!" Aqualad shouted. "None of us are going to die! Not again!"

But it did look pretty hopeless.

The monster began to shock them, and they all, even Aqualad, began to shout in pain.

Robin looked around, trying to get an idea, any idea. Then he saw someone standing in the hole in the building.

The guy threw an explosive at the center of the monster, blowing a hole in it. Then he shot a grappling gun through the hole, which affixed it self to the ground. The stranger tied the other end to an exposed support beam, then slid down the cord. As he went through the closing hole, he left behind some sort of device, tumbled onto the pavement, flipping and landing on his feet. In his hand he held some sort of detonator. He hit the button, and all of a sudden, a loud, piercing noise came from within the monster. Immediately, the monster destabilized, and fell apart.

"I guess it's true what they say," the guy said once the noise stopped. "Loud music_ is_ bad for you."

The kids all got up, not paying attention to the stranger at first.

"What... just... happened?" Artemis wheezed.

"I'll tell you what happened," Kid Flash said, stretching his arm. "We got served. By giant tapioca pudding that started as dudes with bad fashion senses."

"When I was in the building with M'gann, we ran into this guy without a face. This thing must've work for him," Superboy said.

"What do mean, 'without a face'?" Aqualad asked.

"I mean, where his face should've been, there was nothing. I don't even know how he was able talk," Superboy replied. He decided not to tell them about Blank Face morphing to look like Superman.

"We can ask the League if they know anything about a dude without a face," Robin said.

"His name is Blank Face," the guy spoke up. "And I just saved your hides, so the least you can do is thank me."

The kids turned to look at him.

"Were you the guy who left me that note?" Kid Flash asked.

The guy nodded.

"And you were in the building few minutes ago," Superboy remembered. "You said you'd tell me who you were."

The stranger didn't reply. He seemed to be staring at Robin, with a weird look on his face.

"What are you looking at?" Robin said. "I don't have anything on my face, do I?"

The guy snapped out of his mini-trance. "Sorry. Didn't mean to stare."

"We appreciate the help," Aqualad said. "But who are you? And what do you know about this 'Blank Face'?"

"My name is Nightwing. Let's all take a breather and compare notes."


	4. Nightwing Gives a Depressing Pep Talk

**Chapter 4, away!**

**Disclaimer: 303kcihc-X seod ton nwo gnuoY ecitsuJ! (Read that backwards, and it'll make sense.)**

* * *

><p><em><strong>7:49 pm.<strong>_

Robin stared at Nightwing with suspicion. The team was standing on the roof top where the Bio-Ship was parked.

Nightwing turned toward a now-conscious Miss Martian. "How's the head?"

"Bruised, but I think I'll live," she replied. "Thank for saving me and Superboy."

"Hey, I'm a hero, you guys are heroes, it was the least I could do."

"If you are a hero, how come we've never heard of you? Even if you're new, I'm sure we would've gotten word about a 'Nightwing" running around," Robin said, crossing his arms. "What kind of codename is Nightwing, anyway?"

"I used to go by something else, but I decided it sounded too childish. And what kind of codename is Robin?" Nightwing retorted. "Robins don't usually associate with bats."

"He has a point," Kid Flash piped up.

"Shut it, KF," Robin muttered.

"And for your information, I've been at this longer than any of you. I just like to stay under the radar," Nightwing continued. "But we didn't come up here to talk about me. We came to talk about Blank Face. I stuck 20 explosives on that guy, and he didn't even flinch. That's just weird, even by superhero standards."

"What about the monster you helped us defeat?" Aqualad asked. "Where did that come from?"

"I've fought Blank Face before," he replied, not mentioning that this had been about an hour and a half ago by his internal clock. "He pulled a bo-staff straight from his body. I'd bet my inheritance that's where our creature feature came from."

"How big is your inheritance?" Artemis asked. Everyone looked at her. "What? Like you guys don't want to know."

"Moving on," Nightwing said. "The goo destabilized when I hit it with sonics. That same method could be used against Blank Face. Then again, he was the one who told me the weakness, which he wouldn't have done if would be a weakness for him too..."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Kid Flash interrupted. "He_ told_ you how to beat the goo? Why?

"He said it was because he didn't want us all to die. Yet, anyway," Nightwing replied. "He wanted to do that himself."

"Besides the obvious question of who Blank Face really is, we also need to figure out why he wants the microchips," Aqualad summed up.

Everyone stared at Nightwing.

"What?" Nightwing said.

"Do you know why that psycho wanted the chips?" Superboy asked.

"Suddenly I'm the answer man?" Nightwing said. "Sorry guys, I'm just as much in the dark as you."

"This getting big," Robin said. "We'd better get back to the cave and tell the League about this."

Nightwing clapped his hands. "Great idea, let's go."

"Who said you were coming?" Robin said in a rather rude tone.

"Robin!" Miss Martian gasped.

"I'm with Robin on this," Kid Flash admitted. "We just met this guy! We can't bring him to the cave."

"You mean the one in Mount Justice, located in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island?" Nightwing said.

"How do you know that?" Artemis squeaked.

"I do my homework."

"Miss Martian, read his mind! See what else he knows!"

Miss Martian walked over to him. "Sorry about this."

Her eyes glowed, and after a few minutes, she gained a frustrated expression. Her eyes stopped glowing. "I can't read his mind. He's blocking me out with other thoughts. He's currently translating the _Odyssey_ into Pig-Latin."

"Stay tuned, I'll be doing _A Tale of Two Cities_ in Op-Talk next," Nightwing added chipperly.

"I think that we should bring him," Aqualad said. "He might be valuable to have around."

"Let's put it to a vote," Robin said. "I vote no."

"I second that," Kid Flash said.

"I third it," added Artemis.

"I vote yes," Aqualad said.

"Ditto," said Superboy.

"I make three," Miss Martian said.

"Whoa, if Miss M votes yes, then I totally vote yes too," Kid Flash declared, running over to her and putting his arm around her shoulders. (Superboy gave him a glare for that.)

Miss Martian gently removed his arm. "Thanks, Kid Flash."

"Anything for you, babe."

"Traitor," Artemis hissed.

"Majority rules," Nightwing smirked. "I'm tagging along."

* * *

><p><em><strong>8:02 pm.<strong>_

Later, in the Bio-Ship.

Robin stared at Nightwing, who was sitting next to Miss M at the helm. There was something about this guy he didn't trust. And why did he look so familiar?

"_Do you mind?_" Nightwing thought. "_You're boring holes into my skull_."

Robin reeled a little. "_How'd you-_"

"_Miss M hooked me up,_" he replied. "_Since I'm temporarily joining the team and all._"

"_You are NOT part of this team_," Robin thought angrily. Then the anger melted a little. "_Wait, is everyone hearing this_?"

"_Nah, I'm blocking them out. If they try to listen in, all they'll get is the Odyssey in Pig-Latin. __So, what's with the distrust?_"

"_You just popped out of nowhere, and you know things about this team that you shouldn't_. _And I know when a person is keeping secrets_."

"_You would know all about that, wouldn't you circus-boy_?" Nightwing thought in a more serious tone.

Robin's eyes widened, but decided not to pursue the subject. "_... Listen, I'm sorry if I'm acting like a jerk. What happened was sort of overwhelming_."

"_Well it sure as heck wasn't underwhelming,_" Nightwing agreed, then paused. "_Seriously, why isn't anything ever just whelming?_"

"_That's what I've been saying_!" Robin thought happily. He stopped at this. "_Just because I agree with you on something doesn't mean I like you_."

Nightwing shrugged. "_I can live with that._"

The rest of the ride was done in mental silence.

* * *

><p><strong>Mount Justice, 8:25 pm.<strong>

The Bio-Ship landed in the mountain's hangar bay. Batman was waiting for them.

"How'd it go?" he asked once the kids started to get off the ship.

"Despite our efforts, we weren't able to stop the theft," Kaldur reported. "But we did discover that the thief was man who calls himself Blank Face."

Batman narrowed his eyes. A bad sign.

"_And_ we also found someone who can help us tack him down," M'gann added.

Nightwing stepped off the ship. He looked around the room.

"Was it always this small in here?" he muttered to himself. Then he noticed Batman and got serious.

Batman walked up to him. "Who are you?"

"His name is Nightwing," Kaldur said.

"I'm sure the man can speak for himself," Batman said.

"Like Aqualad said, I'm Nightwing," Nightwing said in tone matching Batman's exactly. "And don't be angry with them for bringing me. I already knew where the cave was, and they put it to a vote. If it makes you feel better, your errand boy voted to ditch me."

The kids looked shocked. Few people can actually stare down Batman and talk to him like that.

"Errand boy?" Robin asked to himself.

Batman looked at the team, then at Nightwing, then back at the team. "We'll discuss this later. For now, tell me about this Blank Face character."

So they went to the main room of the cave and told Batman everything that had happened during the mission. He became particularly interested when they mentioned Blank Face's ability to created weapons and men in ugly suits from his body. (Well, the men who became the goop monster, but you get the idea.)

"Did you say that he could pull _anything_ from his body?" Batman repeated.

"Yeah," Connor nodded. "Bombs, staffs, kryptonite..."

"A giant blob of living tapioca pudding," Artemis finished. "Why do you ask?"

Batman pulled up some files on the holo-screens. "A lab in Metropolis was working on a process to create more durable soldiers in the field. The process would enable a soldier to create weapons, explosives, even back-up forces at will."

"Sounds like our Jerk Face," Nightwing agreed.

"Blank Face," M'gann corrected.

"I know what I said."

"The process was also supposed to give a strong regenerative ability, which would explain how Blank Face could live through having a Kryptonian punch through his solar plexus," Batman continued. "But what makes this data important, is that the lab was a independent branch of Project Cadmus."

"Ah, not Project Cadmus again!" Wally groaned. "Let me guess. They tested this process on Blank Face, and now he's a complete sociopath."

Batman pulled up a photo of a condemned lab. "Actually, the process was shut down after the government declared it inhumane. As far as anyone knows, it's never been tested.".

"Then I guess we'll have to figure out how they managed to mutate Blank Face without anybody noticing, alongside why he wants the microchips," said Robin.

"No," Batman said. "You and the team will be staying here. This is officially League business."

"Batman, with all due respect-" Kaldur began.

"This is not open for discussion," Batman interrupted.

"Hey, this was their mission," Nightwing shouted, marching over to Batman. "The least you can do is allow them to finish it."

"Last time I checked, you aren't part of this team," Batman growled. "So, it doesn't involve you."

"Do I look like I care? You're treating them like... like sidekicks," Nightwing said. Then he muttered, "You're never going to change."

Batman didn't show it, but he was slightly taken aback. The tone in Nightwing's voice was soft, but harsh and angry.

Batman turned and headed for the zeta-tube. "Stay put. And 'Nightwing' had better be gone by the time I get back."

Batman disappeared into the tube. The whole cave was quiet.

"Yay team," Wally cheered halfheartedly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>8:36 pm.<strong>_

The team sat around the kitchen-living room area. Connor, Kaldur, and M'gann sat on the couch. Wally and Artemis were in the kitchen, sharing a bowl of pretzels. Robin sat in a chair, and Nightwing sat against a wall.

At one point, Wolf wandered into the room near Nightwing. He growled at first, but when Nightwing held out his hand, Wolf sniffed it, licked it, then allowed Nightwing to pet his head.

"Wow. I've never seen Wolf warm up to a stranger so fast before," M'gann said in surprise.

"Animals tend to like me," Nightwing shrugged. Then he stood up and stretched. "Well, I guess I should be on my way."

"Where are you going?" Artemis asked bitterly.

"To find Blank Face and punch in what _resembles_ his face," Nightwing responded. "I should have never gotten you guys dragged into this."

"To be fair, I believe _we're_ the ones who dragged _you_," Kaldur disagreed, standing up.

Nightwing shrugged again. "Eh, to each his own.".

"Let him go. It's his fault that Batman isn't letting us finish the mission anyway," Robin snarled.

"That's a load of bull," Connor barked.

"I'm with Robin on this," Artemis said. "We brought a stranger to the cave! Batman probably doesn't trust us anymore!"

"Nightwing saved our lives!" M'gann shouted. "Why can't you guys be a little grateful?"

"We're trying to be practical. We don't know anything about this guy!" Wally shouted. "For all we know, him saving us could be a ruse!"

"Oh, I am _not_ hearing this," M'gann groaned.

"We should've just gotten the info from him, and left him on that rooftop. Then we wouldn't be in this mess!" Robin shouted.

"We wouldn't have even been on that rooftop without Nightwing, because we'd all be dead!" Connor shouted back.

"That's enough!" Kaldur ordered. "You are all behaving like children!"

"Newsflash, we are children!" Wally shouted.

This turned the argument into a full-blown screaming match. The teammates were practically at each other's throats. One side was with Nightwing, and the other hated his guts.

Nightwing tried to get a word in, but kept getting interrupted. He heaved a heavy sigh, stuck his thumb and index finger in his mouth, and let out a high-pitched-taxicab-whistle. That stopped the team's argument, since they all had to cover their ears.

"Stop it, all of you!" Nightwing scolded. "You're a team! You're supposed to fight supervillains, not each other!"

Robin scoffed. "Like you know what it's like to be on team."

"Actually, I _do_ know." Nightwing clenched his fists. "I used to be on one, but it failed."

That got everyone's attention.

"You guys wouldn't have heard of us. We were kinda covert," Nightwing began to explain, smiling wistfully. "I had always wanted to make a difference, and this team allowed me to. We were all kids, but no matter how bad things got, we stuck together. Even when one of our own betrayed us. We were more than a team. We were a family."

"What happened?", Artemis asked.

Nightwing frowned. "Like I said, one of our members betrayed us. Nothing was really the same after that. We argued more, and did badly on missions. As time passed, things got worse. Eventually we hit a breaking point. During a Great Crisis, one of teammates paid the ultimate price. And all because we didn't work as a team. That was the last straw. My team broke up. I was sixteen years old."

The team stood there in shock.

"After that, I managed to stay in contact with my best friend, who had been on the team. But the others... it took me years to get back on speaking terms with them. You kids have a good thing going. But you don't know what you have until it's all gone."

The kids were quiet, letting what Nightwing said sink in.

"Nightwing's right," Robin said surprisingly. "We need to stop fighting and get traught."

"But we can't sit here and let the League take on Blank Face. He's our problem," Artemis added.

"Batman ordered us to stay put," pointed out Kaldur.

"Ordered..." M'gann started. "Or gave us a helpful suggestion."

"Babe, I like your thinking," Wally grinned.

"You sure you want to do this?" Nightwing asked. "We might get killed."

"We might not," Robin replied.

"Can't mess with that logic." Nightwing cracked his knuckles. "Let's catch ourselves a sociopath."

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter, the team (plus Nightwing) will begin the search for Blank Face. But will they succeed?<strong>


	5. Let's Flash Forward

**Disclaimer: Joker stole the disclaimer. Curses!**

**Alright, I know I said that in this chapter, Nightwing and the team would begin their search for Blank Face. But since so many people requested it, we're taking a quick trip back to the future and see what Flash is up to. After all, I did leave him on the verge of panicking...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Star Labs,<strong>_ **_Blüdhaven, 10 years in the future_**

Flash was on the verge of panicking. His best friend had just disappeared into a time portal along with an unstoppable maniac without a face. He mentally slapped himself.

"Focus!" he scolded himself. "You are a superhero. You've faced worst than this."

He calmly put his mask back on and began to look over the arch. As far as he could tell, the thing was completely busted and he had no way of fixing it.

"I'm going to need help," he muttered. "But who? If I ask anyone in the higher-ranks of the League, they'll tell Batman. And then Batman will skin me alive."

Flash thought for a second (of course, to him, that second probably felt like half an hour), and he had an idea.

"I've got it! I know just who to ask," he realized. Then he paused. "Why is it that when I get nervous, I start talking to myself?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>Hall of Justice, Washington D.C.<em>**

"**RECOGNIZED. FLASH, 04.**"

Flash ran straight from the zeta tube and into the hall.

"Please be here already, please be here already." He didn't notice was that someone was phasing up from the floor behind him.

"Flash?"

Flash let out a yelp in surprise. He turned around and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's only you, Ms. Martian. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Ms. Martian pulled down her blue hood, giving him a smirk. Her costume consisted of a black long-sleeved leotard with a red 'x' across her front. The leotard covered her neck, and even covered areas of her cheeks. The leotard also had attached fingerless gloves. On her feet were a pair of black boots that came up to just below her knees. Her red hair was gelled straight back, so it didn't fall in her face. On her shoulders was a hooded cape. Despite all the years that had past, her Martian physiology made her look no older than the average 18-19 year old.

"Sorry," Ms. M apologized. "So, what's the problem? You sounded pretty urgent on the comm."

Flash explained in a moderate rush everything that had happened. With every word, Ms. Martian's eyes got wider and wider until she looked like a startled owl.

"Did you tell anyone else?" she asked.

Flash shook his head. "No. I was afraid that if I told anybody else, they'd tell Batman, and he'd kill me."

"Killing isn't Batman's style," Ms. Martian pointed out. "If anyone's going to kill you, it's probably going to be Nightwing's girlfriend."

Flash let out a moan of anguish. "Great, just what I needed! An alien warrior powerhouse who will want to crush my skull!"

"Calm down, Flash. You're not going to die. Give me a minute to think," she said, trying to soothe him.

She sat down in one of the armchairs, and began to think. Flash sat in the chair next to her.

"... You know, I told him that you wanted to put a reunion together," Flash said in a soft voice.

Ms. Martian didn't turn to face him, but said, "Really? What did he say?"

"He said that he wouldn't be able to make it."

"Of course he said that."

There was a moment of silence.

"I told him that everybody would be there," Flash continued. "But then he told me that not everybody would. At first I thought he was talking about Artemis... but now I think he was referring to someone else."

Ms. Martian's hands tightened into fists on her knees. But she didn't look angry. Just sad.

"I miss him," she said in a slight whisper.

Flash clasped his hand over hers. "I do too. That's why we need to find Nightwing. I don't want to lose anymore friends."

Ms. Martian heaved a sigh and stood up. "If only the arch wasn't broken. Then we could just look at the coordinates Blank Face typed in."

"Yeah, but it's not like we have another time machine handy," Flash said, also standing up.

Ms. Martian's eyes brightened and she smacked herself on the forehead. "Hello, Megan! I have an idea. Flash, I need you to take me to the Flash Museum in Keystone City."

"Sure thing, Meg," he obliged with a wide smile. He picked her up bridal style.

"What's with the smile?" she asked.

"Nothing, it's just that... you haven't given a 'Hello, Megan' in nearly seven years. I kinda missed the corniness of it."

Ms. Martian frowned and pointed. "Just run."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mount Justice, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. About an hour later<strong>_

"**RECOGNIZED. FLASH, 04. MS. MARTIAN, 54.**"

Ms. Martian walked into the large room, carrying what looked like a treadmill with her telekinesis. Flash followed her.

"I can't _believe_ we just stole the Cosmic Treadmill!" Flash shouted in disbelief.

"We didn't steal it, we just..._ borrowed_ it," Ms. Martian argued. "Besides, it's your museum. You practically own everything in there."

"The museum isn't 'mine', it's just 'dedicated' to me. And we just stole from it!"

"'Stealing' implies that we're never giving it back," she said, putting the treadmill down. "We'll return it when we're done with it."

Flash let out a sigh, and looked around the room. "Was it always this small in here?"

"I guess it looked bigger when we were younger," Ms. M said.

"Ooh, I need to check something out," he said excitedly. He ran out of the room. Ms. M flew after him, eventually finding him in the souvenir room.

"You never came back for this stuff?" Ms. M asked, picking up Cheshire's mask and blowing the dust off.

"Never saw a reason too," Flash said. "I guess I outgrew them."

On the opposite wall, there were several framed photos. Most them had members the audience didn't recognize, but the first photo showed the original six.

In the picture, Artemis, Kid Flash, and Robin were kneeling on the ground, while Superboy, Miss Martian, and Aqualad stood behind them. To the far right was Sphere, and to the far left was Wolf. Kid Flash had his arms wrapped playfully around Robin and Artemis's shoulders, with Artemis looking ready to throttle him and Robin laughing. Aqualad had his arms crossed, but he was smiling warmly at the camera. Superboy's arm was around Miss Martian's shoulder, and Miss Martian had an arm wrapped around his waist.

The two adults stared wistfully at the photograph.

"The good ol' days, huh?" Flash said. "Things were so much more simple back then. What happened?"

Ms. Martian frowned. "We grew up."

"Hello? Is anyone here?" a female voice called out from the main room.

Flash and Ms. Martian hurried back to the room. Waiting for them was a pretty woman wearing a top hat.

"Thanks for coming, Zatanna," Ms. Martian said.

"No problem. I was getting bored performing in Vegas, anyway," Zatanna said, hugging her old friend. They broke apart, and she asked, "So, Nightwing really got himself lost in time? Figures."

Flash got between the two. "Excuse me, but why did you invite the stage magician?"

"Nice to see you too, Wallace," Zatanna greeted sarcastically.

"I contacted her while we were getting the treadmill," Ms. Martian admitted. "Let's face it, even with the treadmill, there's no telling which time period Nightwing got sent to. I figure with Zatanna's help, we might be able to narrow it down."

Flash rubbed one of his temples. "Okay, I get that. But why did we have to come to the cave?"

She paused before answering. "Nostalgia's sake?"

"Get on that treadmill, Wally," Zatanna said. "And let's put on a show. _Od eht emit praw dna dnif gniwthgiN_!"

* * *

><p><strong>Now that's over with, let's back to the team. They should be on the trail of Blank Face by now.<strong>


	6. Blank Face Spoils Everything

**Disclaimer: Oops! Kid Flash ran off with the disclaimer.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>8:43 pm.<em>**

Robin hit buttons on the cave's computer. The kids were currently trying to track Blank Face by finding out where the seventh chip was. If they found the chip, chances are they would find Blank Face.

Artemis looked at Robin skeptically. "Are you sure you can hack Batman's system?"

"Don't insult me," Robin retorted, but in a joking tone.

"What? Can't you do it?

"He means don't insult him by _assuming_ he can't do it," Nightwing explained.

After another minute, Robin was in.

"Okay... by the looks of these files, the government was never able to recover the seventh chip," Robin said. "The current whereabouts are unknown."

"Great. If the government doesn't know, and Batman doesn't know, how are we supposed to find it?" Superboy asked.

"I think I have an idea," Nightwing announced. He took the holo-keyboard from Robin and began to search. He soon came up on a picture of a kind-looking old man in a lab coat.

"This is the creator of the chips, Dr. Robert Kahn," he explained. "After the government shut down his project, he retired to his private estate in the Metropolis area."

"So...?" Kid Flash prompted.

"So if I were a scientist, and the government confiscated my microchips, _and_ I wanted to keep them them all out of the wrong hands, I would keep the last chip in one place I knew it would be safe." Nightwing pulled up a picture of a nice house. "The sanctity of my own home."

"If we know it is there, Blank Face probably knows it is there too. Let's get in the Bio-Ship and go after it," Aqualad said.

"We can't," Miss Martian said. "If we take the Bio-Ship, Batman will know we left when we open the hangar doors."

Robin rubbed the back of his neck. "Then how are we supposed to get to Metropolis?"

Superboy snapped his fingers in realization. "I think I can help you with that."

* * *

><p>"This was a horrible idea!" Kid Flash shouted, hanging on to the Super Cycle for dear life.<p>

Superboy had suggested that they take the Super Cycle in favor of the Bio-Ship. Miss Martian was flying next to it, telekinetically carrying Robin alongside her. Kid Flash, Artemis, Aqualad, Nightwing, and Superboy were squeezed onto the cycle. (The cycle could hold three, four if the fourth was small enough. Five was pushing it.)

"Why couldn't you carry all of us?" Kid Flash hollered.

"Robin is small and light," Miss Martian pointed out. "I can carry him with little effort. But the strain of carrying all of you would be like dropping an anvil on my head. I'd drop you after only a few minutes."

"Personally, I'd rather have that happen than ride on Sphere," Artemis said. She turned toward Superboy. "Are you sure you can drive this thing?"

"Have a little faith, Artemis," Aqualad said. "Superboy knows what he is doing." He looked at Superboy. "You do know what you're doing, right?"

Superboy rolled his eyes. "I can drive Sphere. This isn't the first time I've ridden her. Never with this many people, but ridden her nevertheless."

Artemis sighed. "Yeah, that makes me feel _so_ much better." She paused. "Wait, Sphere is a 'her'?"

At that point, the cycle hit some turbulence, nearly sending Artemis flying. Luckily for her, Nightwing caught her by the waist.

"Careful. Can't have you becoming sidewalk pizza this far in the mission," he chuckled as he pulled her back onto the cycle.

Artemis muttered a thank you and turned away, because she was blushing furiously.

Robin smirked and looked at Nightwing. "Looks like Artemis is starting to warm up to you."

Nightwing gave an uneasy smile. "That's great. Just great..."

Was it Robin's imagination, or did Nightwing grimace as soon as he looked away?

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:00 pm.<strong>_

Blank Face looked at the huge mansion with interest.

"At long last. I'm so close to completing my goals. All I need now is that final chip..." he monologued to himself.

"Hey boss, are we doing this or not?"

Blank Face turned to look at the mercenaries he had hired. (The League of Shadows usually had such a good selection...)

BF sighed. "Remind me why I hired you people, again?"

A really beefy guy replied, "You said it was because you told this Nightwing guy how to destabilize your constructs. Whatever that means."

Blank Face sighed again and rubbed his temples. "Right. Of course. To answer the previous question, we will be doing this. We're just waiting for the guests of honor to arrive."

He heard a rumble, and saw the Super Cycle fly through the air. "And there they are now."

* * *

><p><strong><em>9:05 pm.<em>**

The Super Cycle landed, and the team began to approach the house. Once they got close enough to go unnoticed, they crouched behind some bushes and watched.

"That is a big house," Miss Martian commented.

Superboy used his infrared vision to scan the area. "I've got eight warm bodies, but one that's cold. Cold means dead, but it's moving."

Robin scowled. "Gotta be Blank Face."

"Looks like my hunch was right," Nightwing said with relief.

"Wait, we came here on a _hunch_?" Kid Flash asked. "What if it had been wrong?"

"That does not matter right now," Aqualad said. "We need to focus on stopping Blank Face. Robin, you-"

He turned to see that Robin had pulled a disappearing act. "Okay then. Nightwing, how about you-"

Apparently, Nightwing had taken the disappearing act and brought it in for an encore.

"Geez, it was annoying enough when only Robin did it," Kid Flash complained. "Anybody see where they went?"

"No sign of them," Artemis noted.. "But they'd better come back soon, because we're going to need all the help we can get."

"Well, look what we have here."

The kids turned to see the mercenaries, grinning down at them.

Kid Flash smiled hopefully. "Uh, would you believe us if we told you we were looking for the little heroes room?"

* * *

><p>The mercenaries kept guns pointed the the kids' backs as they brought them to Blank Face.<p>

"Hmm," said Blank Face. "I see the clone, the Martian, the speedster, the hero wannabe delinquent-"

"Hey!" Artemis protested.

"And the sea king's lap fish," he finished. "But we seem to be missing two little birds. But that's alright. They'll show themselves eventually."

"What's your game, Blank Face?" Superboy blurted out. "The chips, the powers... heck, Nightwing! To what end?"

"You want me to monologue," Blank Face said. It was more of a statement than a question.

The mercenaries prepared to fire on them, but Blank Face lifted his hand in the universal 'halt' gesture.

"Why not? I'm feeling lucky. I won't talk about my plan, but I will tell you that all your efforts tonight are meaningless, even if you do defeat me."

He paused to laugh, as if this were a huge joke to him. The team didn't know what was so funny.

"And do you want to know why I know this?" Blank Face went on. "I know, because I'm from the future."

"That's not possible," Aqualad argued immediately.

"Oh, but it is, Kaldur'ahm," he purred. "Would you like to know who your father _really_ is? Or how in a few years, your precious Tula will die, drowning in toxic waters?"

Aqualad was usually a calm guy, but the expression on his face was downright murderous.

"Speaking of death, hows about I throw in the eventual demise of the Flash otherwise known as Barry Allen?"

Kid Flash grit his teeth. "You're... you're lying!"

"Let's not forget when you find out about Artemis's extended family. Or how Miss Martian is really-"

"SHUT UP!" Superboy shouted, attempting to tackle him.

Blank Face calmly pulled out the kryptonite and sent Superboy reeling back. He nearly collapsed, but Miss Martian caught him.

"M'gann, read his mind," Superboy said weakly. "He's got to be lying."

Miss Martian's eyes glowed, then she gained a terrified expression. "He's not lying. I can see it in his memories."

She projected a couple of the images into their minds. The first showed a red-haired girl swimming under the ocean, the water tinged an unhealthy green. The girl looks like she's choking. The second image showed a slightly older Kid Flash, standing ancient ruins at night. (It took them a second to realize he was in outer space, not that it was night.) He was holding a skeleton in a Flash uniform.

"Miss Martian, that will be all," Aqualad said in a voice desperately trying not to shout.

"See? The future is not a nice place, children," Blank Face gloated. "By the way your team is going to turn out, you'd be better off if I killed you right-"

He was cut off before he could finish. Literally. Two birdarangs hit him in the chest, and exploded. Of course, he began to reform almost immediately.

"Geez, Blank Face. Don't give away everything," Robin said. "We need a little surprise in our lives."

"Where the heck have you two been?" Kid Flash hollered.

"Breaking radio silence," Nightwing answered, pulling out a trigger. He pushed the button.

The mercs all received a painful shock from the charges planted on their backs. The cries of agony that followed indeed broke the silence. This caused them to release the team.

"That shock won't keep them down forever. Get Blank Face!" Nightwing ordered.

That was practically handing the kids a loaded gun. They attacked Blank Face, and they didn't hold back.

Aqualad filled his water bearers from the mansion's pond, and began whipping at Blank Face mercilessly.

Artemis shot arrow after arrow, all explosive.

Miss Martian used mental attacks, peeling away at his mind.

Superboy and Kid Flash took the direct approach and just kept punching him.

Once the dust cleared, there was very little of Blank Face left.

"I... did... my... duty," he garbled out. "The... creator... will... get... the... microchip..."

Blank Face melted into a puddle of white goo. Robin ran over to it and examined it. Then he stood up.

"That wasn't the real Blank Face. It was construct," Robin declared. "Apparently so real that it fooled Miss M's telepathy."

"That means the genuine article must already be inside, going after the chip," Artemis said, still looking unbelievably angry. Then she glared at Nightwing. "Did you know he was from the future?"

He waited a second before answering. "Yes."

Superboy stepped forward, ready to punch his new ally. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It didn't seem all that important at the time. We needed to focus on what he was doing, not when he was from," Nightwing replied.

"Not important? That's a load of-" Kid Flash began, but had to stop to avoid a bullet. The mercenaries were awake.

The kids jumped behind a fountain.

"New plan. Nightwing and Robin, go inside after Blank Face. We'll take the mercenaries," Aqualad commanded. He stood up and caused a spout of water to erupt from the fountain, blowing the mercs back.

"But-" Robin tried to say.

"GO!"

Nightwing grabbed Robin's wrist and pulled him towards the mansion.

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:25 pm.<strong>_

As Robin ran toward the mansion's front door, he thought about what Blank Face had been saying. He had said that by the way the team's going, they'd be better off dead. What did that say about their future?

"Oh, circus peanuts!"

Robin was brought back into reality. They were at the front door, but instead of a door, there was a steel wall.

"Jerk Face must've activated the security system when he got inside," Nightwing said. He looked at Robin. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Robin answered quickly. "Just a little distracted."

"Well, do me a favor and get tracted. We need to blow down this door."

Robin thought about what he had just said. "Tracted, huh? I might have to use that."

"Feel free," Nightwing shrugged as he slipped off his utility belt and stuck it to the steel wall.

"What are you doing?" Robin asked.

Nightwing pushed himself and Robin back behind a tree. Then he pulled out another trigger and hit the button. The belt exploded, taking the steel wall with it.

They walked through the gaping hole in the wall and into the mansion.

"You blew up your utility belt," Robin observed in shock.

"That I did," Nightwing said. He pulled out Escrima sticks. "Shall we get going?"

"Where did you pull those out of?" Robin asked, incredulous. "You _blew up_ your utility belt!"

"Robin, have you ever actually seen me pull something out of my belt?"

Robin had to admit that he had not.

"Exactly. I keep all my gear in hidden pouches all over my costume. I usually use the belt as a decoy. But it also makes a great heavy-impact explosive."

As they ran on ahead, Robin said, "Decoy belt? I may have to use that too."

Nightwing simply smiled and continued to run forward. It seemed like Robin was finally beginning to trust him.

* * *

><p><strong>A trust that I plan to crush next chapter. Enjoy! Oh, quick reference check. I got Dr. Robert Kahn's name from Bob Cane, the creator of Batman! Robert Kahn was his real name.<strong>


	7. The Author Crushes the Trust

**Disclaimer: Red Tornado blew the disclaimer away. Sorry!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:32 pm.<strong>_

Robin and Nightwing ran through the house. Finding Blank Face in this huge place was like finding a needle in a haystack. Partially because BF had left behind a dozen constructs of himself to keep the boys busy.

"He must've made these in a hurry. I break through them once and they melt into goop," Nightwing said, doing a side kick through a dupe's chest.

Robin did a back flip, breaking off a dupe's head. "That just makes things easier for us. So, where do you think the chip is?"

"The schematics I downloaded show that the lab is in the basement," Nightwing replied, quickly looking at his holo-wrist computer. He ducked a jab from a dupe. "I suggest we look there once we handle the bad copies."

After he said that, everything became automatic. If Robin needed to do a high flip, Nightwing cupped his hands in preparation. If Nightwing needed someone to punch a dupe while he ducked, Robin was there to supply the hit. At times, it seemed like the two were moving in perfect sync.

After a few more minutes, the dupes were all harmless piles of goo. The duo decided to take a second to catch their breath.

Robin wiped some sweat from his brow. "We make a pretty decent team."

Nightwing stretched his arm. "Yeah, I guess we do."

"I'm sorry for not trusting you. You've earned it. My trust, that is. You don't keep secrets."

For Nightwing, that was like rubbing salt in the wound. If only Robin knew...

"We should get going. We won't stop Blank Face by standing here."

He ran on ahead. Robin stood there a moment before following. For that split-second, Nightwing had sounded eerily like Batman.

* * *

><p>They walked down the dark staircase leading to the basement. When they reached the bottom, motion-activated lights came on. The lab itself was so enormous, it gave the Bat-cave a run for its money.<p>

Robin let out a whistle. "Dr. Kahn must have a lot of time on his hands. Speaking of which, how come we haven't seen him?"

"He's at a weapons conference in Munich. He'll gone for at least another two weeks," Nightwing answered. "Lucky for him, huh?"

"Yes. Lucky for him."

Standing on top of platform was Blank Face. In his hand was the microchip.

"What did you think of my look-alikes?" he asked casually.

"The first one was good, but the others seemed a little rushed," Nightwing replied, equally casual.

Blank Face shrugged in a very 'that is life' way. "Nevertheless, I've got what I needed. You're welcome to try and stop me. But then again, you could always just surrender. What do you say?"

The boys threw explosive birdarangs at him. BF had barely enough time to jump out of the way. He landed on a separate platform.

"I suppose that answers that question," BF muttered. "Kids today. So impulsive."

Blank Face spread out his arms, and some familiar white orbs flew from his body. They immediately flew toward the heroes.

"Hit the deck!" Nightwing shouted.

They jumped behind a counter as the orbs blew up. Every so often, the boys would throw birdarangs at the orbs, setting them off before they could hit. It was kinda like a snowball fight. Only with explosions.

This went on for a few minutes, until Robin reached into his belt to find it empty.

"I'm out!" he announced.

Nightwing handed him a shuriken. "Here. Take a Wing Ding."

"A _what_?"

"A Wing Ding!"

Robin paused. "Your shurikens are called _Wing Dings_?"

Nightwing looked him angrily. "Look, they were originally called Nightarangs, but my friend's daughter Lian started calling them Wing Dings, and it stuck! So Robin." He held the shuriken up close in his face. "Take. The. Wing. Ding."

Robin wasn't sure how he said that with a straight face, but he decided to take the Wing Ding.

They continued to fight off the orbs, but were so busy doing that, they didn't notice two gooey tentacles sneaking up behind them. The tentacles wrapped themselves around their ankles, then dragged the boys upwards toward Blank Face. They hung upside down before BF, who, despite not having a face, looked extremely pleased with himself.

"Like I said earlier," Blank Face said to the struggling heroes. "This fight is over. I win."

"When I get my hands on you-" Nightwing began to threaten.

Four more tentacles shot from Blank Face's waist, wrapping around their hands. Then they were flipped right side up.

"Please. Don't you see this pointless?" Blank Face said, bringing Nightwing in close. He cupped his chin. "There's nothing you can do. Our new timeline will be secure."

Robin stopped struggling for a second. "'Our' new timeline?"

"Oh, Nightwing didn't tell you? He's from the future too," Blank Face said smugly, looking at Robin. "I'm surprised you haven't figured out who he really is yet. I thought it would be obvious."

"Blank Face, if you tell him, I swear I'll-"

Blank Face looked back at Nightwing, jerking his face painfully to the side. "You'll what? Kick my butt? Devise some complicated plan to get me to confess and go to jail? Give me a break! Trust me kid, you're trying _way_ too hard."

Nightwing grit his teeth.

"Look at yourself," BF continued. "You have clever themed weapons. You have master kung fu skills. You're multilingual and a tactical genius. You're at the peak of human strength, reflexes, speed, endurance, agility, and durability. You've become this, all in attempt to be more like _him_."

"What is he talking about?" Robin asked.

"Shut it!" Nightwing yelled at Blank Face. "You don't know anything!"

"What else is there to know?" Blank Face said. "You're the lone defender of Blüdhaven. And that's only because you turn down any help offered to you. You have barely any friends, because the only friends you've ever had was your old team, which most of its old members you haven't spoken to in years. Even your own girlfriend finds you antisocial! You've become more like him in more ways than one."

Blank Face's face began to bubble, changing. It eventually looked exactly like Nightwing's face, mask and all.

"Face it, bird boy," Blank Face sneered, using Nightwing's voice. "You can act like the big, tough hero. But deep down inside, you're still that little robin, so desperately trying to please his mentor."

That was everything clicked in Robin's head. Why hadn't seen all the signs?

_"I used to be on one, but it failed."_

_"I used to go by something else, but I decided it sounded too childish."_

_"You guys wouldn't have heard of us. We were kinda covert."_

_"Breaking radio silence."_

_"And for your information, I've been at this longer than any of you. I just like to stay under the radar."_

_"Well, do me a favor and get tracted. We need to blow down this door."_

_"Seriously, why isn't anything ever just whelming?"_

"You're Robin," Robin whispered. "You're me."

"Well, give the boy a prize!" Blank Face declared, his face once again becoming featureless. "And to be exact, Nightwing here is you in about ten years."

Robin ignored Blank Face. All he could do was keep saying, "You're me. You're ME!"

Nightwing just looked at Robin helplessly.

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:48 pm.<strong>_

Aqualad knocked out the last mercenary. "Is that all of them?"

Superboy had been rounding the mercs up and putting them in a pile. "Should be. Unless some are hiding."

Kid Flash sat on the ground, rubbing his ankles. "Gosh, I hope not. This is getting old."

Miss Martian was looking at Artemis's arm, which had been scratched in the fight. "I wonder how Robin and Nightwing are doing."

Artemis winced as her wound was bandaged. "I'm sure they're doing fine. Robin's been at this longer than any of us, and Nightwing is pretty good himself."

"I suppose you are right," Aqualad said. "Besides, it is not like they are going to blow up the mansion."

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:46 pm.<strong>_

"If it's alright with you two, I'm going to go ahead and blow up the mansion," Blank Face decided. "It's time for these Robins to fall."

Blank Face tossed an explosive onto the ceiling, then dropped Nightwing and Robin. With that, he teleported out of the lab.

The boys hit the ground. Robin landed hard on a counter, while Nightwing landed on the actual floor.

Nightwing sat up. "Yup. Gotta love that peak human durability."

He stood up, only to see that Robin had been knocked unconscious from the fall. He quickly checked for injuries, and diagnosed that all Robin would have was a nasty bump.

Nightwing pulled Robin into a fireman carry and muttered. "Was I always this useless?"

He ran up the basement stairs, only to find that a metal wall had slid over it.

He sighed. "Figures."

Nightwing quickly ran back down the steps, and set Robin on the floor. When he looked up, he saw that there were only 40 seconds left on the countdown clock on the bomb.

He frantically patted his pockets. "C'mon, c'mon, I know it's here..."

Finally, Nightwing found what he was looking for. He pulled a gold medallion with a green crystal. Attached to it was this note:

_D,_

_Thanks for the help with Blackbriar Thorn. If you're ever in a jam and need an easy way out, just hold this up and say the incantation I taught you. It'll get you and one other person the heck out of there. But only use it in an emergency. The medallion can only be used once. Good luck!_

_Love, Z._

There were only ten seconds left on the clock, so Nightwing had to work fast.

He pulled Robin close, held the medallion up, and shouted, "_Gnirb su ot ytefas, noilladem fo aW-reeT!_" (**Note: This reads "Bring us to safety, medallion of Wa-Teer. It's not a real mystical medallion. I made it up.**)

The medallion spewed energy, enveloping Robin and Nightwing. They disappeared in a flash of light.

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:48 pm.<strong>_

"I suppose you are right," Aqualad said. "Besides, it is not like they are going to blow up the mansion."

That was when the mansion blew up.

"Robin! Nightwing!" Miss Martian screamed.

Kid Flash glared at Aqualad. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"

"I did not-" Aqualad began to protest, when a there was a flash of light in the yard.

Standing there was a perfectly unscathed Nightwing, holding Robin bridal style.

"You're okay!" Artemis said, running over to him. "What happened to Robin?"

"He'll be okay," Nightwing assured her. "We weren't unable to stop Blank Face, though."

"I'm sure you did your best," Miss Martian said. "How'd you get out here?"

Nightwing held up the medallion as it began to crumple to dust. "Gift from an old friend. One use only, though. But it's probably for the best. That guy who got eaten by his own tiger will go back to magic before I do."

"I'm glad you got out and all, but Jerk Face still got away," Superboy said.

"If only we knew what Blank Face's plan was," Aqualad said. "Then we could stop him that way."

"I think I have a way we can find out," Nightwing said. He handed Robin over to Aqualad, walked over to the pile of mercenaries, and dragged a now-conscious one off of it.

Nightwing slammed the guy against a tree. "What's Blank Face going to do?"

The guy smirked. "Like I'd tell you. I'm trained to resist torture. There's nothing you can do to make me talk."

Nightwing smirked. "Whoever said I was going to _do_ anything?"

With that, all Nightwing did was frown and stare at the mercenary. It was a cold, hard stare. Not to mention mighty uncomfortable. It made the merc sweat.

After 2 minutes, the merc shouted, "Alright, alright, I'll talk! BF never told us outright what his plan was, but he did say that he was going to change the world. Make everybody more like him. That's all I know, I swear! Just please stop staring at me like that!"

Nightwing smiled and tossed the mercenary back onto the pile. "At least we now have something to work with."

"Impressive technique," Superboy commented.

Nightwing shrugged. "What can I say? I learned from the best."

"Was 'the best' Batman?"

Robin was awake, and boy, did he look mad.

"Robin," Nightwing said in an uneasy tone. "When did you regain consciousness?"

"Just now.", Robin replied bitterly as Aqualad set him down.

"Robin, what's wrong?" Superboy asked.

"What's wrong is that Nightwing is a liar!" Robin shouted. "He's from the future, just like Blank Face. He's a future version of me!"

The kids all gasped in shock.

"To be fair, I never said that I _wasn't_ from the future," Nightwing pointed out.

"Nightwing... you're Robin?" Artemis asked, blushing furiously.

"I haven't called myself 'Robin' since I was eighteen," Nightwing admitted. "But... yes, I am."

"So this whole time we've been working with two Robins?" Kid Flash asked. "It's like Robin-ception!"

"You guys are missing my point!" Robin yelled. "All that stuff he said earlier. About how his team broke up, how a member betrayed the, how one of them payed the ultimate price. That was_ our_ team he was talking about!"

The team's eyes widened in realization, then they all glared angrily at Nightwing.

Nightwing rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe I should start at the beginning..."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm a very mean person, aren't I? Hope you enjoyed the two chapters in one day!<strong>


	8. Robin Has a Conversation With Himself

**Disclaimer: I'D TELL YOU THE DISCLAIMER, BUT BLACK CANARY PRETTY MUCH RUINED MY HEARING!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>10:15 pm.<strong>_

The team landed the Super Cycle near Mount Justice's back door. Nightwing was just finishing up his story.

"...And the next thing I know, I'm thirty stories up in the air and on the verge of becoming part of the pavement," Nightwing said. "I had barely enough time to shoot a grappling hook. Once I got myself on more stable ground, I heard the alarm go off at Star Labs. I remembered having a mission there when I was thirteen, so I thought I could help. That was when I met Connor and M'gann. The rest... well, you guys were there for those parts."

Robin hopped off the cycle. "You should've told us who you were from the beginning."

"You wouldn't have believed me," Nightwing said.

"How do you know?" Robin asked.

"I _am_ you, remember? If some dude walked up to me claiming to be an older version of myself, I'd think he was a nut."

"He has a point," Wally said.

Robin shot him a glare. "Shut it, Kid."

The kids entered the mountain, the computer announcing their arrival.

"We will talk more later," Kaldur said. It was clear that he was still angry. "Do you think Batman knows that we left yet?"

As they walked into the main room, Batman was waiting for them. He did not look amused.

"He knows," Artemis said.

"What part of 'don't leave the cave' didn't you understand?" Batman growled.

"Probably just the part where you said it," Nightwing replied.

Connor elbowed him in the stomach. Of course, having super strength, Nightwing ended having the wind knocked out of him.

"We're sorry we disobeyed orders," Kaldur apologized. "But right now, we need to find out what Blank Face wants with the microchips." He looked at Nightwing. "Among other things..."

Batman noticed that the entire team was looking at Nightwing in a 'this guy is dead meat' kind of way.

"I'm going to assume that you found out that Nightwing is a future version of Robin," Batman said.

The team snapped to attention.

"How did you-" Nightwing started. "Wait, scratch that. You're Batman. Of course you knew."

"Not at first," Batman admitted. "After I left the cave, I went to Blüdhaven to see where Nightwing had come from. Everything within 2 miles of Star Labs gave off chrono-energy. That was when I realized that Nightwing had given off the exact same energy. It was simple enough to run his face through my data banks to find anyone with similar facial features. The only match was Robin."

"Did everyone know who Nightwing was except us?" Connor asked.

Wally placed a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like it, Supey."

Batman ignored those two and turned to Nightwing.

"Nightwing, I'm going to talk to some of my contacts in the League. See if they have any ideas on how to send you back to your own time."

Nightwing crossed his arms and looked away. "Sure. You go do that."

"What should we do?" Robin said.

Batman got in close in his face. "Stay. Put."

Batman left the room via zeta tube.

Robin crossed his arms as well. "I hate it when Batman treats me like a little kid."

"Welcome to my world," Nightwing said. "Batman thinks he _so_ superior."

"Oh, don't even think for a second that we've forgotten about you!" Robin shouted. "You lied!"

"I told you, I never said that I _wasn't_ from the future! That's not lying!" he argued.

"It's still evading the truth! Why!"

Nightwing didn't know how to answer, so that left an awkward pause. M'gann broke the silence.

"All that stuff you said about our team. Is that really going to happen?" she asked. "I don't want us to break up."

"Hey, maybe now that we know, we can prevent it from happening!" Wally suggested.

"Not a good idea. That's why I wasn't going to tell you who I was. The temptation of changing your future would be too great," Nightwing said. "Ever hear about the Butterfly Effect?"

"Um... I think so. Isn't there a saying like step on a butterfly, change the course of human history?" Artemis answered.

"Maybe nothing so dramatic, but yeah. I know from personal experience that you _never_ want to mess with the natural course of time. Say you prevent a teammate from dying. Time will get back at you and kill off somebody else. Stop the team from disbanding, and maybe the Justice League will disband instead. Changing events always has a way of coming back and biting you in the butt."

As much as the team hated to admit it, that all made sense. They all looked a little bit less angry. Except Robin.

"Guys, can I have a minute alone with Nightwing? There's something I need to ask him in private," Robin said.

The others understood and went into the kitchen. Nightwing and Robin were now alone.

"Want to know why I find it so hard to believe that you're me?" Robin asked. "Because you said that you work alone. I always want someone to watch my back. Be it my team, or Batman. Why would I stop being Robin? Why would I stop being Batman's partner?"

Nightwing sighed, as if there was no easy way to explain.

"Stop me if you've heard it before," Nightwing said. "A boy, an orphan, gets the chance to become the 'partner' of some A-List superhero. He spends the next few years fighting bad guys, saving the day, etc. He even gets to join a team. But as he gets older, he wants to be treated more like an equal. An adult. The team allowed that treatment, but only for a little while. The mentor still treats the boy as a little kid. The mentor does something that's the last straw. The boy quits, spends a few weeks using his old identity, then finally comes up with a new one. End of story, roll credits."

Robin paused to think. "That sounds a lot like what happened to Red Arrow."

"Yeah, well, I guess history has a habit of repeating itself. I served as Batman's 'partner' for many years. But let's face it, the guy just wasn't treating me like an equal. I was still riding in the sidecar of the Bat-cycle when I was 17! And like I said, something happened- I won't tell you what, for the sake of the timeline- that was the last straw. I realized that to Batman, I would never be a 'partner'. I would always just be a sidekick."

Robin was shocked. "Was it really that bad?"

"If I remember correctly, I punched him in the face."

"Yikes."

"Anyway, I moved to Blüdhaven, figuring they could use a hero," Nightwing continued. "I tried to keep going by 'Robin', but whenever I showed up to help, everyone asked where Batman was. So I came up with a new codename, and never looked back. My point is, the team failed. My partnership with Batman failed. I'm just better off on my own."

They stood in silence.

Robin looked down at his feet. "So this is how I turn out. A bitter idiot."

Nightwing bowed his head too. "In a nutshell, yeah."

"And I can only imagine what Batman did to make me hate him so much."

Then Nightwing did something really unexpected. He slapped Robin across the face. After that, he grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the wall.

"Listen. There are many,_ many_ things I don't like about Batman. But I will never, and I mean _never_, hate him. Understand that?" Nightwing growled.

Robin was in awe. He'd never thought that he was capable of getting this angry. Not wanting to anger him further, he nodded.

Nightwing put Robin down. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten so angry."

Robin rubbed his sore face. "It's okay. But it's weird to know that when I'm twenty three, I'm gonna hit like a girl."

Nightwing pretended to look offended. "Hey! I've met plenty of girls who could hit pretty dang hard. My girlfriend included."

"Wow. I can't believe it."

"What? That I've met girls who can hit hard?"

"No, that I have a girlfriend."

Nightwing frowned. "Ha-ha, very funny."

"Hey, can we come back in now?" Artemis called into the room.

"Yeah, it's fine," Robin called back.

The rest of the time filed into the room.

Nightwing cleared his throat. "Listen, I know that you all must still be a little T-Oed about how I didn't tell you who I was. But right now, we need to find Jerk Face and stop him from doing... whatever. After that, you can all kick my butt for all I care. Okay?"

"We're holding you to that offer," M'gann said, smiling.

"Good. That was easy part. The hard part is figuring out what Blank Face is up to," Robin said.

"The mercenary we interrogated said that Blank Face was going to change the world. Make everyone else like him," Kaldur remembered.

"Just throwing a thought out in the open... but what if he meant that literally?" Connor said.

"Care to enlighten us?" Wally asked.

"What if he somehow managed to get his hands on the machine that created him? If he hooked it up to a receiver, and then used the chips to access other receivers all over the world to spread the process-"

"We'd have a planet of Blank Faces!" Artemis gasped.

"We have to find him before that happens, because personally, I like my face where it is," Wally said.

Robin smiled. "Lucky for us, I know a way to find him."

"You do? Tell us," Kaldur said.

"When BF was holding me and Nightwing upside down, I placed a tracker on him," he replied, pulling up his holo-computer. On it was a small bleeping light.

Nightwing whistled. "That's pretty good. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because I'm cooler than you."

"Won't argue with that. Let's get rolling."

"Batman ordered us to stay put," Artemis pointed out.

"Pfft. When has that ever stopped us?" Nightwing said.

"We can't mess with that logic," Kaldur admitted. "Like Nightwing said. Let's get rolling."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Blüdhaven Clock Tower, 11:00 pm.<em>**

Blank Face slid the chips into the machine's console. It immediately gained access to every satellite, TV, and other things that could project energy.

He smiled, or did what passed for a smile. This was his moment. Years of planning was beginning to pay off.

"I'm going to change the world," he whispered.

He was about to push the button, when an arrow blasted his hand off.

"Yeah, but if you ask me, it doesn't need _that_ kind of change."

Blank Face turned to see the team crashing through the clock tower's window. The Bio-Ship hovered outside. (They figured that they couldn't get into any more trouble than they were already in, so they took the Bio-Ship.)

"For a guy to claims to be so much better than us, you think you would notice a tracer on your leg," Kid Flash said.

Blank Face saw the tracer and plucked it off. "Well played. But you still won't stop me."

"Enough is enough, Blank Face. No more tricks, no more wild goose chases, no more dupes. We're finishing this mano-a-mano," Robin said.

Blank face shrugged. "I'd love to, but I'm trying to change the world. I'll let my newest creations handle you."

Six figures stepped out of the shadows. The team's eyes widened. These six people looked like older versions of themselves.

"Meet your future," Blank Face said. "Have fun."

* * *

><p><strong>Ooh, evil dupes! I theorize that there are at least 2-3 chapters left in this. We're getting there!<strong>


	9. BF Gives His Reasons, Which Are Stupid

**Disclaimer: Was I supposed to write a disclaimer? I met Psimon and now I can't remember...**

**Oh, and just a quick note. I'd like to thank all the people giving me grammar advice, but I'm fully aware that I'm doing it wrong. I only do it the "right way" for school assignments. The rest of the time, I prefer to do it my way. Thanks anyway!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:02 pm.<strong>_

Kid Flash wasn't sure about what he was looking at. The dupe in front of him looked like Uncle Barry, but the costume was a little different. And like the other dupes, it had glowing red eyes and white cracks in its skin. Blank Face had said that they were looking at their future, so maybe this was what he looked like in the future. (Hopefully without the eyes and cracks. Those were hideous.)

KF decided to make the best of the situation. "I'm the Flash in the future? Sweet!"

He ducked a punch from the dupe.

"You think you're the fastest boy alive, don't you?" the Flash dupe said. "But we aren't. We weren't fast enough to save Uncle Barry, and we won't be fast enough to stop Blank Face."

"Maybe, but I'm going to try anyway," KF replied, running circles around this fake. "Superheroes are kinda stupid like that."

The Flash-dupe stuck out his leg. Kid Flash tripped and went skidding for several feet.

After landing upside down against a wall, KF said, "Like I said. Stupid. How's everybody else doing?"

Each teammate had their own theoretical demon to fight. Aqualad's adult dupe wore thick Atlantean armor, and carried a trident. Its head was shaved, and had a Robert-Downy-Jr-in-Iron-Man kind of beard. It too was trying to get underneath Aqualad's skin.

"Its meaningless to serve your king!" the dupe said in a deep voice, trying to pierce Aqualad with his trident. "He's the one who will prevent you and Garth from saving Tula! Her death will be his fault!"

"You must have been created by Blank Face," Aqualad said, fending off the trident with water-swords. "You are extremely irritating." With an angry yell, he stabbed the dupe in the chest. Unfortunately, it didn't crumble. Instead, it lost it's adult Aqualad appearance and became a goo zombie.

He looked at his team. "Don't listen to what they're saying! They're just trying to distract us!"

"Thanks for the observation, Captain Obvious!" Artemis shouted. At the moment, her bow was only thing between her and a big honking machete.

In Artemis's opinion, her older self construct looked stupid. It had wore a revealing black tank top, spiked dog collar, skin-tight tiger print pants, and combat boots. It's hair was in a braid-ponytail combo, and had a blue tiger-head shaped tattoo over her left eye.

"You're team will hate you when they find out," the dupe hissed. "They won't see you as Artemis. They'll see you as Sportmaster's daughter."

The dupe would've said more, but Artemis shot an arrow in its head. It too became a goo zombie.

"Please," Artemis scoffed. "Like I'd ever wear tiger print."

Miss Martian and Superboy's adult dupes had ganged up on them. (No need to describe Miss Martian's. You already know what she looks like.) Superboy's construct really didn't look all that different. It was a little taller, and its shirt had longer sleeves. Other than that, it looked pretty much like present-day Superboy.

"You're just a clone. An abomination! Superman will never accept you!" the Superboy dupe said while putting Superboy in a headlock.

"Do you really think he'll love you when he sees what you really look like? You're deluding yourself!" Miss Martian's dupe snarled. It had slammed Miss Martian onto the floor and was keeping her there.

Miss Martian telekinetically lifted a shard of glass and shot it into her dupe. Superboy caught a punch from his dupe and twisted off the hand. Both became goo zombies.

"What did yours mean when it said-" Superboy asked, helping Miss Martian up.

"Kid Flash needs help!" she shouted. And she wasn't lying. Kid Flash was currently being held in a full nelson by his dupe.

Robin's dupe looked, of course, like Nightwing. Only it had red eyes and white cracks all over its body. Plus, Robin didn't think that Nightwing's smile was _that_ sadistic.

"Nightwing is _way_ more impressive than this!" Robin called over to Blank Face while fending off Evil Nightwing's Escrima sticks.

"Perhaps," Blank Face replied, not really paying attention. If he had been paying attention, he would've noticed that the real Nightwing was absent from this fight. Where was he, anyway?

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:20<strong>_

"Take out the chips from underneath, he says. It'll be simple, he says," Nightwing muttered, pulling at wires. He was currently underneath the machine, having removed the floorboards separating him from the bottom of the device. "I'm a superhero, not a mechanic. I don't remember Kaldur being this bossy."

He pulled out some wire strippers from his many pouches. Guy Gardner had once asked if there was anything that _wasn't_ in that costume. Nightwing had replied that it didn't have an umbrella.

"_Nightwing, how are things on your end_?" Aqualad asked him via mental link.

"_Glorious. I think I may have a future as a nano-technologist,_" Nightwing replied sarcastically.

"_No need for the sarcasm. Just finish the job. We could use your help up here._"

"_Right, right. I'll get up there as soon as I can._"

Nightwing broke off the conversation and continued to work. At that moment, he was thankful that he had paid attention all those times Mr. Terrific had rambled on about 'the wonders of modern technology.' And Nightwing _really_ hoped that Robin found the little present he had left for him...

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:25<strong>_

By this point, all of the duplicates looked more like walking tapioca, save for the Nightwing dupe. Blank Face had deliberately made him the hardest to defeat. Probably for irony's sake.

Robin matched the dupe move for move. This was getting less and less easy.

"Aw, is the wittle sidekick twying to play hero?" the Evil Nightwing said in a baby voice. It switched to a regular growling voice. "Get over yourself, kid. Leave the heroics to the grown ups. It's the only way they'll ever take you seriously."

Robin attempted to taser it, but it knocked the taser out of his hand.

"Need any help, Robin?" Miss M called over. She was currently trying to get Artemis off a wall, for a construct had glued her to it.

"I'm fine!" Robin shouted. After he said that, he got a kick in the stomach and fell onto his back.

"Batman's such a jerk, anyway. You should ditch him while you still can," the evil Nightwing sneered. Its hand morphed into a long blade, preparing to impale the boy wonder. "If you live that long."

Robin hated to admit that he was running out of ideas. But there was no way he was letting Blank Face get the upper hand.

That was when he noticed that something had fallen out of his belt. He hadn't put it there, but he did recognize it.

Robin smiled and looked up at Evil Nightwing. "I've seen my future. And personally, he's way more asterous than you!"

Robin stuck something onto its chest, and back-flipped away.

The Nightwing dupe looked down at the device (which had begun to beep), then back up at Robin. He smiled. "Well, aren't you clever."

The device released a loud, piercing noise. The other zombies screamed in agony as they destabilized and exploded.

Robin scooped from residue his face. "Everybody in one piece?"

Aqualad helped Superboy up, who had been pinned to the ground before the dupes exploded. "We are. Can't say the same for our adversaries."

Artemis ran her fingers through her goop-filled hair. "I hope this stuff comes out of hair."

"Ditto with costumes," Kid Flash said, wiping off his costume the best he could. "Anyway, where did the noise come from?"

Superboy picked up the now dead device. "Isn't this one of Nightwing's sonic bombs?"

"He must've slipped it into Robin's belt when he wasn't looking" Miss Martian said.

Robin nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like something I would do. Moving on. While we were fighting, to made sure to keep an eye on Blank Face?"

His team's expressions were not exactly encouraging. Neither was the sound of the machine reaching maximum power.

"Yes, this is it!" Blank Face announced.

He hit the button. There was a popping noise, then nothing.

"That was it?" Kid Flash asked. He felt his face. He looked at Superboy. "Do I still have my face?"

"That was... very anti-climatic," Aqualad noted.

"No, no!" Blank Face shouted. "The machine should've connected with every satellite, TV... everything! I've planning this for ten years! Why didn't it work?"

"Because I threw a wrench into your machine."

Blank Face turned to see Nightwing climbing out of a hole in the floor. He was holding a mess of wires and chips.

"I removed your microchips, BF," Nightwing said. "Your plan failed. Get over it." He walked over to the team. "So, what'd I miss?"

Superboy shook his head. "You don't wanna know."

Blank Face was seething. "Nightwing. It's always you. You always have to get in my way! This was supposed to be my ultimate revenge!"

That caught the team's attention.

"Revenge?" Aqualad asked. "On who?"

"HIM!" he shouted, pointing at Nightwing.

Night pulled a 'who me?' expression. "What the heck did I do?"

"You ruined my life!" BF replied.

"I don't even know you!"

"Oh, but you do!"

Blank Faces's face began to bubble and morph, until it became the face of a man with beady eyes, bad teeth, and a long nose.

"There! Surely now you recognize me!"

Now it was Nightwing's turn to have a blank face. "Never seen you before in my life."

BF looked shock. "Seriously? I'm your greatest enemy! You kicked me in the face!"

Another pause. "Dude, do you have any idea how _little_ that narrows it down?"

Robin's eyes widened. "Wait, I know this guy." He let out a groan. "This guy, who's been causing so much trouble, is Mitchell Mayo!"

Nightwing gave Robin a weird look. "Wait. You're telling me this guy is_ Condiment King? _Well, no wonder I didn't recognize him! I only fought him once!"

Miss Martian held in a giggle. "Condiment King? You mean that lame supervillain we talked about earlier?"

The kids couldn't hold it in a second longer. They burst out in fits of laughter.

"Stop laughing!" BF shouted, his face becoming blank once more. "I was going to be the greatest supervillain of all time, but then I got my butt kicked by a thirteen-year-old in spandex!"

"Greatest supervillain of all time? You were a pathetic joke! I only tell people about my fight with you at parties, for laughs!" Nightwing managed get out despite his laughter. He managed to calm down a bit to ask a question. "Which begs the question; how did you end up like this?"

"Once I was arrested, my mother had to sell her wedding ring to bail me out. Then she kicked me out of the house! Said that I was good for nothing!" he explained. "The only way I could make money was by becoming a guinea pig for Cadmus. They tested their new process on me, and it worked. Too well. They feared my new power and locked me up. I was in that holding cell for nine years before I manged to escape. After that, I went ahead with my long thought-out plan. Finding the chips, which were destroyed ten years ago. Using the time machine to go to a time when they were still intact. Stealing the device that gave me my powers and turning it loose on the world. Killing Robin's stupid team! But of course, there _had_ to be a blip in my plan!"

"Nightwing wasn't supposed to follow," Artemis said.

"Exactly! I planned this for ten years, and_ he_ ruins it in ten minutes!" BF shouted. "Well, I've had enough!"

BF turned back to his device and a few buttons. The machine bathed him in a blue energy. He began to grow and distort. When it was finally done, Blank Face was 18 feet tall, had muscles the size of monster-truck tires, and claws.

"NOW I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WITH EVERYTHING I'VE GOT!"

The team stood there in shock and awe.

"In retrospect, maybe I should've disabled the machine while I was removing the chips," Nightwing said.

"You think?" the team said in unison.

* * *

><p><strong>That's right folks! Blank Face is actually Condiment King! Am I great or what?<strong>


	10. We Came, We Saw, Can We Go Home Now?

**Disclaimer: I am vengeance! I am the night! I. Am. THE DISCLAIMER!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mount Justice, 11:32 pm.<strong>_

**"RECOGNIZED. BATMAN, 02."**

As Batman entered the mountain, he could already tell something was off. It was pretty quiet for a place filled with teenagers.

"Robin?" he called out. "Aqualad?"

After looking around a little longer, he found a note in the kitchen.

_Batman,_

_If you're reading this, then you must've figured out that we left despite your orders to stay put. Sorry, but we needed to stop Blank Face and couldn't wait for you to get back. That would taken up to much precious time. So, when we get back, go easy on us. Considering we live that long._

_Sincerely, the Team._

Batman let out an aggravated sigh. "Brilliant. I can only hope they didn't do anything stupid."

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:47 pm.<strong>_

At the given moment, the team felt pretty stupid. Aqualad partially blamed himself for not reminding Nightwing to disable the machine alongside the chips. Everybody else blamed the other for not stopping Blank Face from turning into a mega-monster in the first place. So yeah. Stupid.

From BF's giant body, massive cannons erupted, shooting a strange energy. He was firing so fast, the kids had barely enough time to react and move out of the way. One blast penetrated the roof, letting rain fall into the room.

Artemis ducked behind some fallen debris, and fired arrows at BF. The others followed her move.

"Okay, does anybody have a plan?" she shouted over the noise.

"Yeah. Try not to die!" KF shouted back.

"Okay, does anybody have a _good_ plan?" Superboy re-stated.

Everybody looked at Nightwing.

"What? All of a sudden it's my job to think up the plans?" Nightwing asked. When everyone nodded, he sighed and said, "Here's a plan. You guys distract it while avoiding getting killed, while I go over to the machine and see if we can use it to stop him."

"Not much of a plan, but it is better than nothing," Aqualad agreed. "Robin, you go with Nightwing. Between the two of you, you should be able to figure it out."

Robin nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"On the count of three, we charge," Aqualad said.

They looked over the debris. Blank Face was still firing randomly. It was amazing that the clock tower hadn't caved in yet.

"One..." Aqualad said.

"Two..." Robin said.

"THREE!" Nightwing hollered.

The kids jumped out and charged, weapons blazing. Robin and Nightwing made their way to the control panel, while the others distracted Blank Face. Miss M used her TK to throw debris at his head, while Superboy and Artemis took out his back cannons. Aqualad and Kid Flash worked on keeping BF from making quick retaliations.

"WORTHLESS INSECTS!" Blank Face roared. "I WILL SMITE YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

"Smite? _Smite_?" Kid Flash said, running circles around BF. "People still use that word?"

Aqualad cut off one of BF's arms with a razor-sharp blast of water. "Apparently so."

"Focus!" Artemis barked at them.

Meanwhile, Robin and Nightwing were frantically looking over the machine.

"Is there any way to reverse the process?" Robin said, looking over the control panel.

"I don't think so," Nightwing said. "The creators wouldn't have wanted it to be reversible."

After a few moments of being on the verge of panicking, Robin got an idea. "What if instead of reversing it, we pour it on?"

"Excuse me?", Nightwing said.

"We keep the ray of the device constantly directed on Blank Face. In theory, his body would grow, and he'd lose stability, eventually falling apart."

"That's actually a pretty good idea. Wish I'd thought of it."

"Technically speaking, you did think of it."

"One question. What if instead of becoming unstable, he just gets way stronger?" Nightwing asked.

"He'll kill my friends, then me, and you'll cease to exist," Robin replied in an eerily calm way.

Nightwing paused. "Okay then. Let's do this."

They began to prep the machine.

"It'll take a few minutes for it to reach full power, so we'd better keep Jerk Face busy a little bit longer." Nightwing set the machine's levels to 'maximum.'

Robin stopped working. "Is it just me, or did it just get really quiet in here?"

The two turned to see their friends strewn across the floor, unconscious. BF had gotten lucky with one of his cannon shots.

"Oh..." Robin began.

"... Crud," Nightwing finished.

Nightwing ran across the floor, to check if his friends were okay. What he didn't see was that Blank Face was about to snatch him up.

"Look out!" Robin shouted, pushing him out of the way. BF grabbed Robin instead.

"YOU'VE COME SO FAR, ONLY TO FAIL. I WIN," Blank Face laughed. "ROBIN IS GOING TO FALL."

BF backed Nightwing up to a hole in the wall. Which, if Nightwing were to fall, would hit the street below.

Nightwing took in his situation. His friends were unconscious, his younger self was in BF's grasp, and he was running out of ideas. Maybe he could still win this...

_Yeah_, he thought. _And maybe Lex Luthor will grow hair_.

He hated to admit it, but maybe he had already lost. Robin was going to die, and then he was going to cease to exist. Things hadn't looked this hopeless since the Apokolips Invasion. And that was saying something.

"Nightwing... don't... let.. this... jerk... win..." Robin tried to shout, but BF's squeezing made it difficult to breathe.

Easy for him to say. But that was when Nightwing noticed something. Some adjoined ropes were dangling from the ceiling, and they looked very similar to a trapeze...

Nightwing smiled. He had an idea. "Sorry, Blank Face, but Robins don't fall."

With that, he fell backwards into the hole in the wall.

As he fell, a pair of gliders popped out from under his arms. The glider caught the wind, and he soared upward. Higher and higher, until re-entered the clock tower through the hole in the roof. Once in, he retracted the glider, and grabbed on to the ropes. Swinging, he performed a mid-air flip, threw explosives at BF's hand, grabbed Robin's arms, moved out of the way of the explosion, and hooked his legs on to the next trapeze-esque set of ropes.

"Robins don't fall," he repeated. "They fly."

He jumped to the ground, and set Robin down.

"How many more times do I have to save your butt today?" Nightwing asked.

Robin didn't have a chance to answer, because Blank Face was now extremely ticked off.

"I'M GOING TO CRUSH YOU LIKE A BUG!" he screamed.

Nightwing and Robin ran, avoiding his smashing fist. They made it to the machine, which was now fully charged.

BF continued to roar. "I'M THE GREATEST SUPERVILLAIN EVER CREATED! I AM BLANK-"

"Aw,_ shut up_!" Robin and Nightwing shouted in unison. Then, at the same time, they hit the device's button.

A beam of energy hit Blank Face. As his body absorbed it, he began to expand. Parts of his body bubbled and ballooned. This continued, and BF screamed. His body exploded, sending goop flying everywhere.

At last. It was over.

Robin wiped the slime from his face. "That was officially the coolest thing I've ever seen. We did it."

"Was there any doubt?" Nightwing said, holding up a fist for a fist-bump.

Robin didn't leave him hanging. "That was amazing. I can't believe you used a trapeze trick to take out his hand."

Nightwing shrugged. "Hey, once a Flying Grayson..."

"... Always a Flying Grayson," Robin finished.

Robin then walked over to his friends, who were now waking up.

"Did we beat him?" Miss Martian asked, still woozy.

"What do you mean 'we'? Nightwing and I did all the work," Robin said, helping her up.

"Well, excuse us for getting knocked out," Superboy griped. "But we did win, right?"

"We won."

"And what of Blank Face?" Aqualad asked, brushing goo off his arm.

"He's over there," Robin replied, pointing. "And over there, and over there, and over there..."

"Great, we get the idea," Artemis snapped. "Now can we_ please_ go home? I. Need. A. Shower!"

"Good idea," Robin said. He turned to Nightwing. "Hey, let's-"

He stopped when he saw Nightwing slumped against the device, fast asleep.

Kid Flash crossed his arms, wincing at the broken one. " Wow. Looks like Robin _does_ know how to sleep."

Robin frowned. "Shut up, Kid."

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:10 am.<strong>_

Back at Mount Justice, everybody had cleaned up, and were awaiting a scolding from Batman. Also in the room was Red Tornado and Zatara.

"You disobeyed orders twice, destroyed a clock tower, and nearly got yourselves killed," Batman said angrily.

The team looked sheepish.

"But other than that,", Batman went on. "You did an okay job."

"Did we just just get a compliment from Batman?" Nightwing gasped. "Somebody call GBS!"

"Good one!" Robin snickered. "I'll have to use that."

"By all means, go ahead."

"Anyway," Wally interrupted. "Did you figure out a way to get Nightwing back to the future?"

"Yeah, because it's not like we have a suped-up Delorean on hand," added Artemis.

Batman nodded. "I've talked with Zatara, and he believes there's a mystical solution."

"I know of a spell that will bend time, and should send you home," Zatara spoke up.

"'Should'?" Kaldur asked.

"**Zatara says the spell will take a few weeks to prepare,**" Red Tornado explained.

Nightwing's shoulders slumped. "A few weeks! I can't wait that long!"

"It's okay, Nightwing. You can stay here with us," M'gann said.

"You can never have too many Robins," Connor agreed.

Nightwing sighed. "Thanks you guys, but I need to get back."

"Sorry dude, but it's not like a solution is going to come crashing through that wall," Wally said, pointing to a random wall.

Right after he said that, a vortex opened in the wall. Two women and a man on treadmill came sliding out, eventually hitting the opposite wall.

"I suppose this solves our problem," Batman commented.

Wally stared at his finger. "I will use this power for good!" **(Got that joke from Jimmy Neutron.)**

"Flash? Ms. Martian?" Nightwing said in awe.

"Nightwing!" Ms. Martian shouted. She scrambled off the floor and ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"He's in one piece?" Flash said. "Great! Now Starfire won't pulverize me!"

That was when they noticed the team.

"Oh," Ms. Martian said. She got off Nightwing. "Well, this is awkward."

M'gann walked over to her older self. "You're the real older me?"

Her older self nodded.

Wally ran over to his older self. "That means you're me! That is awesome!"

Artemis groaned. "Brilliant. Like one Wally wasn't enough."

Flash looked at Nightwing. "How much have you told them?"

Nightwing smiled uneasily.

Zatanna stepped away from the treadmill. "Cosmic Treadmill is still in one piece, in case anybody cares."

Then she noticed that Zatara was standing nearby. The two stared at each other.

"Zatanna?" Zatara asked in shock.

"Daddy?" Zatanna gasped. Her eyes teared up and she ran over, hugging him tightly.

"You're here," she whispered. "Then this is before Klarion..."

Zatara grabbed her shoulders. "Of course I'm here. Why? Does something happen to me in the future?"

"Daddy, I love you, and I'm sorry about this," Zatanna apologized. "_Tegrof_!"

Zatara's eyes glowed white, and he looked like he was in a trance. Batman and Red Tornado looked exactly the same way.

"What are you doing?" Connor shouted.

The people of the future looked at each other. Nightwing gave them their answer.

"Sorry guys, but I can't let you remember any of this," Nightwing said. "It's not good to know too much about your future."

"What?" Robin said. "But I don't want to forget any of this!"

"Not your choice, kid," Flash said. "Knowing your future always gets things screwed up, believe me."

"Besides, this makes sense," Nightwing said. "Personally, I have no memories of fighting a guy named Blank Face when I was thirteen. As far as I remember, the robbery at Star Labs was committed by Kobra. The only way my memories could be different is if they were changed."

"He's right," Kaldur said. "We shouldn't know our future."

Nightwing threw his arms up in the air. "Thank you!"

"We don't care!" Artemis screamed. "We don't want the team to break up! We don't want someone to die!"

Ms. Martian raised an eyebrow. "Who ever said somebody died?"

"He did!" Robin yelled, pointing at Nightwing. "He said that one of us paid the ultimate price! That means dying!"

Nightwing rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... yes, and no."

"What?" Robin asked, confused. "That doesn't even make sense!"

Nightwing knelt down his level. "Listen, Robin. I know that the future doesn't sound all that great. But all the _good_ things that are going to happen, completely outweigh the bad."

"So, I'm still going to grow up to be a clueless jerk?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, but this clueless jerk has learned a thing or two in the last few hours. I think it's about time I gave the team thing another try."

That sure surprised Robin. "Seriously?"

Nightwing nodded. "There are heroes I'm friends with who usually prefer to work alone. A bunch of outsiders. But I think I can talk them into teamwork."

"What about Batman?"

"Yeah, I guess we're due for a long, long talk."

Nightwing stood back up, and joined the rest of the future crew.

"You guys ready?" Flash asked.

Robin looked at his team. They still looked unsure.

"Guys. Please," Robin asked.

Connor took M'gann's hand, and they nodded. Kaldur, of course, also nodded. Wally and Artemis both sighed and agreed.

"Let's get this over with," Robin said, standing in front of his friends.

Zatanna stepped up.

"See you in ten years, guys!" Nightwing called to them.

"Looking forward to it!" Wally replied.

"_Tegrof_!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>A few weeks later...<strong>_

Robin jumped down from the parallel bars. Working out usually helped clear his head.

The last few weeks had been rough. Kobra attacked Star Labs alongside Mammoth, Zatara had become Dr. Fate, Vertigo tried to kill his niece, and he'd gone back to the circus he grew up at. But he'd also had been having chronic headaches. The whole team had been having the same symptoms. It was weird.

But other than that, things were pretty much the usual.

"Young Master Dick," Alfred said, entering the gym.

Robin wiped his face off with a towel. "Yeah, Alfred?"

"Master Bruce has requested your presence in the Batcave. Something about the Penguin stealing a golden jeweled ibis?"

Robin smiled. "Be right there."

20 minutes later, Robin was running across rooftops, pursuing the Penguin.

"_Be ready to meet me at the rendezvous point_," Batman said into his ear-mic.

"Don't worry, I'll be there. Can't pass this up."

Robin loved this life. He could see himself doing this in the next ten years, or the rest of his life. And that was fine by him.

He let out a cackle as he prepared to jump another roof. Robin lept into the air...

* * *

><p><em><strong>10 years later<strong>_

... And Nightwing landed on the warehouse floor with a thud.

"So, you managed to get cornered by Killer Croc and his thugs, huh?" Nightwing observed.

Batman frowned and kicked a thug in the jaw. "Stop gloating and come help."

Nightwing grinned and pulled out his Escrima sticks. He and Batman were now back to back.

"These guys do realize that they're about to feel a world of hurt, right?" Nightwing asked his old mentor.

"They know. They just don't care," Batman replied. He paused. "Nightwing?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you came."

"I'm glad I came too."

* * *

><p><strong>WOO-HOO! I'm done with the main story! FINALLY! And whoever caught the little Outsiders reference gets a plate of cyber-brownies.<strong>

**Stay tuned! A bonus story within this one is coming up next!**


	11. Bonus Story: The 3 R's

**Bonus Story: The 3 R's: Reunions, Renewal, and Reformation.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Star City, 10 years in the future...<em>**

25-year-old Artemis Crock fumbled for the keys to her apartment. She had done many near-impossible things in her life, but opening a door while your hands are full of groceries what difficult.

After a few minutes, she managed to get the door open. Once inside, she set the groceries on a counter, then plopped down on her couch.

"Finally, a chance to relax," she sighed.

Then she felt a quick breeze. She sat straight up and said, "What do you want, West?"

Flash stepped into a view. "Seriously? First Nightwing, now you? It wouldn't kill you to fake it."

"Man up, Wally. Now, what do you want? Because it seems you don't remember what happened the last time we were alone in a room together," Artemis growled.

"It's kind of hard to forget. You broke my leg. Anyway, I came here to see if you were coming to the reunion M'gann was planning."

Artemis lost her agitated expression. Now she just looked tired. "I haven't decided. I'm not sure if everybody else would want me there. And I'm not too keen on the idea of spending a day with my ex-boyfriend, his wife, and his kids."

Flash waved off the concern. "For starters, of course you'll be wanted. You're an original member of the team, and a member of the superhero community like everybody else."

"Yeah, but ever since my brief stint as Tigress, everybody's either mad _at_ me or scared _of_ me. I'm not in the mood to be given terrified glances."

"Well, you are kinda scary," Flash agreed. "And ruthless. And dangerous. And-"

"I get it!" Artemis snapped.

"Arty, listen. The reason you don't want to show up is that you don't want to see me, Linda, Jai, and Irey. I get that. But I'm not asking you to come and see me. I'm asking you to come and see your friends."

Artemis sat in silence, thinking. After a few minutes, she sighed and said, "Fine. Whatever makes M'gann happy."

"Great!" Flash chirruped. He picked her up bridal style. "Let's go!"

"West, if you know what's good for you, put me dow-AHHHHHH!"

Imagine being carried bridal style while the person carrying you is moving at super-speed. Not a fun experience.

* * *

><p><em><strong>An undisclosed location in the Arctic...<strong>_

Ms. Martian knelt on the cold ground. She was in front of some weird machine.

"We're having the reunion today," she said. "It took a little convincing, but everybody's coming. Even Artemis. Nightwing is coming too. Said he had big news."

She chuckled. "It's weird. He created a team a few weeks ago with his girlfriend. They're called The Outsiders. After so many years of saying, 'I work alone', he's the one to start up a whole new team."

She stood up. "Anyway, I should be going. The reunion has already started."

We finally see who she's talking to. In front of her was a golden tank. Through the glass, we see Superboy, in a sleep-like state. He only looks a few years older. He's wearing the white solar suit. Next to the tank is a computer, with these words on its screen:

**Fortress of Solitude Regeneration Chamber: Stable.**

**Regeneration Process: Stable**

**Process Completion: Unknown**

Ms. Martian kissed two of her fingers, then pressed those fingers against the frosty glass, right over Superboy's lips.

"See you again soon, my love."

She walked out of the Regeneration Lab, and into the room that held the Fortress's zeta tube. Standing next the tube was Superman and Kaldur.

Ms. Martian walked up to Superman. "Thanks for letting me visit."

Superman smiled. "Don't mention it. It seemed right, considering you're having the reunion today."

"And thank you for letting us hold it at the Hall of Justice," Kaldur added.

"It was my pleasure. Now, you two should get going. You're late enough as it is."

Kaldur and Ms. Martian both nodded, then disappeared into the zeta tube.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hall of Justice, Washington D.C.<strong>_

Ms. Martian and Kaldur stepped out of the zeta tube. As far as they could tell, everyone Ms. Martian had invited managed to show up. Nightwing, Arsenal, Zatanna, Rocket, Lagoon Boy, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, etc. They even saw Tigress, who was currently hugging her niece, Lian. (She had been worried for a moment there that Artemis/Tigress would have changed her mind at the last minute.)

"May I have you're attention, please?" Ms. Martian announced. Everyone stopped talking. "Thank you. I'd just like to thank everyone for coming. I know how busy your schedules are, but I'm sure Captain Cold can wait a few hours before having his butt kicked."

It was a weak joke, but everyone laughed anyway.

"Ten years ago, we were all part of the same team," she went on. "It's been a long time since we been in the same city, let alone the same_ room_, as each other. So, let me be the first to say..."

She threw her arms up on the air and shouted, "It's fantastic to see you all again! Now, let's get this party started!"

You didn't have to tell them twice. If there's one thing superheroes know how to do besides saving lives, is how to party.

* * *

><p>So this went on for a few hours. Music, food, idle chatter, an arm wrestling contest between Arsenal and Tigress. That kind of stuff.<p>

Nightwing tapped Kaldur's shoulder. "Hey, can you come with me for a second?"

Kaldur had just been talking with Linda, so he nodded.

He followed Nightwing into a separate room. Also in the room was Ms. Martian, Tigress, and Flash.

"Great, we're all here," Nightwing said.

"Does this have to do with your 'big news'?" Flash asked.

"Yes, it does,."

"So, what is it?", Ms. Martian asked. "What's with all the secrecy?"

"You'll see!" Nightwing answered in a sing-song voice. "Follow me."

They followed Nightwing to the Hall's zeta tube and stepped through. When they stepped out, they were now in Mt. Justice. But the room wasn't empty. It was filled with kids in costumes.

"Nightwing..." Tigress said. "What. Is. This?"

Nightwing looked extremely pleased with himself. "My next big project."

There were quite a few kids. A girl with red hair flying around the room on a funnel of wind. A boy in a magician's outfit chasing frogs around the room, trying to get them back into his hat. A boy with white hair and a demonic appearance. An African-American boy with electricity crackling at his fingertips. A girl dressed entirely in purple, from her mask down to her cape. The newest Robin. And so many others.

The grown ups in the room gave Nightwing a stare.

"Explain," they demanded in unison.

"As you all know, I took a little field trip to the past a few weeks ago. That experience was what inspired me to create the Outsiders," Nightwing explained. "But it also got me thinking. We had a good thing going, with the Team and all. We learned a lot, and did so much. I want to start it back up, without the League watching our every move."

"You're serious?" Kaldur asked.

"As a heart attack."

"You want these kids running around without supervision. That's a _brilliant_ idea," Tigress said sarcastically. "Didn't some kids already try that and hopelessly fail? With the team-who's-name-will-never-be-mentioned-again?"

"You mean the Teen Titans?" Ms. Martian asked.

"She mentioned it!" Flash gasped.

"I never said they wouldn't be supervised," Nightwing assured them. He looked at Tigress. "Arty, I want you in charge of training. If anyone can whip these kids into shape, it's you."

Tigress was silent for a minute, then sighed. "Why not. I've had ample amounts of free time lately. But I'm not exactly fit to be den mother."

"I'm not asking you to be den mother," Nightwing said. "I'm giving that job to Kaldur. If he'll except it."

Kaldur smiled. "I'd be honored."

"Wait, wait, wait," Flash said. "You want to do this without the League breathing down your necks. Well, Ms. M and I are Leaguers. "

"You can be liaisons, if the rest of the A-List finds out," Nightwing said. "You all in?"

Some silence, then mutual nodding.

"Hold on!" Flash said again. He ran out of the room, and came back with a camera and tripod. He set it up, then stood with his friends, as the camera took their picture.

"What was that?" Kaldur asked.

Flash held up the camera. "Souvenir."

Some things never changed.

Nightwing smiled, then turned to face the teenagers. "May I have your attention please?"

The teens all stopped talking and looked at Nightwing.

"Thank you. The reason you're all here is simple. You're young, and most of you have superpowers. You also want to help people, and maybe, in a few years, join the Justice League. Well, I'm here to help you with all that. To show you that you can be more than kids. More than sidekicks. You can be just as great heroes as Superman or Wonder Woman. But for now, one thing is certain..."

Nightwing looked at the kids before him. In their faces he saw his team, eager to get started.

"... Today, is _the_ day."

_**The End.**_

* * *

><p><strong>WOOT! Finally done, ya'll! And might I say, this came out very well. Anyway, who else watched the new <strong>**_Young Justice: Invasion_**** episode? I did, and I'm happy to say that even though my story isn't canon, I'm keeping it just the way it is. But I was right about Robin becoming Nightwing in the next five years. Gimme my props!**

**Oh, and whoever can guess the teen heroes I was describing earlier on when they entered the mountain, gets cyber brownies!**


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